Europe’s Ports Look for Private Money as Infrastructure Needs Grow

FTZ News: European ports are looking for more private money as they face the cost of upgrading infrastructure, improving connections and meeting new environmental and digital requirements.
That was the focus of a European Maritime Space meeting Thursday at the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Days in Brussels.

The session looked at how EU grants, loans and advisory support can help ports move projects forward, and how public funding can be combined with private investment.
Gesine Meissner, the European coordinator for the European Maritime Space, gave the keynote address. Marija Janeva of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, Alberto González Sánchez of the European Investment Bank and Sönke Maatsch of the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics took part in the first session, which focused on EU support for port investment.

The second session turned to private capital and the question of how port projects can be made suitable for bank financing. Torsten Klimke of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport moderated the discussion.
The panel included Michela Rossi of Frittelli Maritime Group, Lucia Candela of Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Alessandro Pecorari of the Global Infrastructure Investor Association and Charles Debeugny of Meridiam.

For ports, the issue is not simply finding money. Projects have to move from the planning stage to something lenders and investors can finance. The Commission used Thursday’s meeting to put that question directly on the table./.

photo: CPMR