The Spinelli Group won a tender issued by Società per Cornigliano on 30 October 2026 for the lease of the area known as Sot and adjacent land on the former steelworks site in Cornigliano, near Genoa's Sampierdarena port basin. The group will relocate its Erzelli 2 empty container depot to the site, retaining its name but operating on a smaller area than the current 50,000 square metres. The tender, dated 29 September 2026 and published in Italy's Official Gazette, covers a four-year lease on 32,285 square metres. The starting rent was €16 per square metre per year, equivalent to €516,560 annually, with the contract awarded to the highest bidder following a final round of competitive bidding. Port-related activities are permitted, excluding the outdoor storage of bulk cargo.
Spinelli has leased the current site since November 2021, following a tender for a two-year contract renewable for a further three years. According to previously announced plans, the Erzelli 2 site is earmarked for development as a truck parking facility serving the port. In July 2026, the president of the Port Authority, Matteo Paroli, announced plans to launch a public-private partnership tender to build and operate the facility. Giuseppe Bossa, head of the Osservatorio Trasporti Genova transport observatory, has submitted a proposal to the Authority for a multi-storey facility providing at least 250 parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles and around 100 for light vehicles.
For the Spinelli Group, the new site complements its own depot in Novi Ligure, which opened in October following an investment of €14 million. The 56,000-square-metre facility adds to the group's existing 42,000 square metres in Vignole Borbera, bringing its total space in southern Piedmont to almost 100,000 square metres. According to group chairman Mario Sommariva, the Novi Ligure depot will enable Spinelli to maintain its services despite the reduction in space available in Genoa. He added that Novi Ligure falls within the Simplified Logistics Zone covering the port of Genoa and its hinterland, where the group intends to develop import and export services for loaded containers and ro-ro cargo serving businesses in north-western Italy. In a statement issued after winning the tender, the group said its main reason for taking part was to protect the livelihoods of around 50 depot employees, an objective it claims to have achieved. Spinelli maintains that the smaller site will still be sufficient to handle empty containers destined for export through the port of Genoa. Sommariva also linked the operation to Genoa's future breakwater and new Port Master Plan.
