Fresh costs and technical concerns emerged in early May 2025 regarding the construction of the new breakwater in Genoa. The first issue is financial: initial estimates placed the total value of the project at around 1.3 billion euros, with approximately 950 million awarded to the PerGenova Breakwater consortium for the design and execution of Phase A, which involves the creation of a new eastern access channel and the enlargement of the turning basin in the Sampierdarena area. These estimates were made before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, both of which have had an impact on construction costs.
Meanwhile, it has become clear that the financial framework for Phase B, which will complete the structure and increase navigable space along the entire Sampierdarena channel, has exceeded earlier projections. According to deputy commissioner Carlo De Simone, the current estimated cost for this phase stands at 470 million euros, which is higher than both the 350 million forecast in the Technical and Economic Feasibility Project and the 330 million allocated under Decree Law 19/2024. As a result, in May 2025, the transport ministry approved an additional allocation of 300 million euros.
The situation has become even more complicated due to the withdrawal of part of the previously allocated funds. The 2024 final balance of the Port System Authority reports that of the 330 million euros allocated by the government in March 2024, 50 million, corresponding to the 2024 tranche, have been withdrawn. In addition, the 270 million euro loan announced in 2021 by the European Investment Bank remains pending and has yet to be confirmed by the bank.
On 10 May, a new development came to light through an interview with deputy transport minister Edoardo Rixi in the newspaper Secolo XIX. The first seven caissons, which form the foundation of the breakwater and have already been placed, might be removed and replaced with elements made from a new concrete mixture. The deputy minister stated that “the right formula has been found”. This naturally raises the question of why the work went ahead before this formula was identified. Rixi nevertheless clarified that, for now, the replacement remains a hypothesis.
