Genoa dam, the Tar cancels the tender (after laying the first stone) – Corriere.it

In the aftermath of the ceremony of laying the first stone (that is the casting of gravel into the sea) for the construction of the new breakwater of the port of Genoa, the judicial case broke out involving Eteria, the consortium of companies which lost the tender against the Webuild-Fincantieri consortium. The Tar of Liguria, accepting the appeal presented by Eteria, led by Gavio and Caltagirone with the Spanish Acciona and Rcm, canceled the tender. A sensational fact even if it has value only for compensation purposes, the work begun is going on thanks to the safeguard clauses provided for by the Pnrr. As the judges themselves write, finding application of article 125 of the code of administrative procedure, the annulment of the assignment does not entail the termination of the stipulated contract. Therefore, the contract with Webuild-Fincantieri stipulated by the Port System Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea chaired by Paolo Emilio Signorini who is also extraordinary commissioner for the construction of the dam remains valid. The Authority announced that the works will continue according to the timetable, with no delays. It should also be underlined that among the various objections raised by Eteria, the judges accepted only one reason which will be the subject of an appeal. The point on which the annulment of the assignment of the works hinges concerns the assessment of the technical capacity to carry out the work.

The tender required a list of similar works already completed by the competitors, Webuild indicated among others the Tuas Terminal in Singapore but, the judges wrote, this work from a technical point of view is not directly attributable, not even pro rata to Webuild-Sidra. The infrastructure cannot therefore be judged significant of the capacity to build the breakwater. Due to the importance of Singapore’s infrastructure, its construction had, according to the Tar, decisive and decisive relevance in the choice of assignment made by the college, hence the nullity. A dispute that also raises the question of verifying the requirements presented by the competitors. Everything will be a matter of judicial confrontation.

The claim for damages

While the Authority’s lawyers are preparing to present an appeal to the Council of State, those of Eteria are preparing to quantify a claim for damages that could be around 100 million euros if we consider 10% of the one billion and 300 million of the contract value, 950 million if we calculate only the first phase of implementation which must be completed by 2026. On the political front, the tones are very heated, the Democratic Party considers the dam a necessary work but accuses the Liguria Region, the Municipality of Genoa and the Port Authority of having mismanaged the project and calls the Tar ruling as proof. The president of the Region Giovanni Toti responds by emphasizing that the construction site does not stop: To the too many no lords who still populate the country we can say: put away the festoons, trumpets and colored balloons, the immobility party will not be celebrated. The Tar ruling, says the governor does not move anything and criticizes companies that believe that appeals are the method for making our economy run. The new dam will allow super ships 400 meters long and up to 65 meters wide, with a loading capacity of over 18,000 containers, to enter the port. This could more than double traffic levels.