105-project plan to relaunch Marche as a logistics hub

To make the Marche a state-of-the-art logistics hub, with the ambition of subsequently linking up with Umbria and Lazio, thus relaunching Central Italy as the hinge of the country. A long-term project based on a master plan that Svem, the development company wholly owned by the Marche Region, has entrusted to a group of university professors and experts in the sector. Amazon's arrival in the Jesi interport area was the spark that opened the way to a prospect of expansion of the regional infrastructure system, following the example of Zaragoza, which carried out a large development project, attracting global investors and becoming Europe's largest logistics hub precisely thanks to the arrival of the e-commerce multinational. "Le Marche certainly has the same potential," notes Andrea Santori, president of Svem, "and this work is only a first step along the way: in a few weeks we will present ourselves on the Italian stock exchange to important international investors, who will assess the potential of our region in terms of infrastructure and logistics.

There are three areas of intervention for 105 projects and a total investment of EUR 7,837 million: EUR 2,514 million for so-called European integration, to bring the Marche region into line with European transport strategies; EUR 2,796 million on growth and economic efficiency, through the improvement of critical infrastructures; and EUR 2,527 million to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors. Among the projects are the upgrading of the Fano-Grosseto, the strategic axis linking the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and its main connections; the improvement of the connection between the E78 and the SS76, which passes near Fabriano and heads towards Rome; interventions to eliminate bottlenecks and improve the capacity and safety of the A14; the development of the Marche-Umbria Quadrilateral; the doubling of the Orte-Falconara railway line and the upgrading of the Falconara railway junction.

Ancona plays a fundamental role due to its geographical location and the presence of the port, airport and interport, which already constitute an example of multimodality, with enormous potential for development and integration. The value of the logistics hub located in the territory of the capital city is currently estimated at EUR 4.7 billion and in assets could exceed EUR 6.2 billion if all the planned interventions are realised, including the further modernisation and expansion of the port infrastructure and the improvement of road connections up to the port (the Last Mile).

The study then devotes specific attention to the Ancona-Balkans route, which represents one of the main access routes for incremental traffic, thanks to the development project promoted by the European Union: the increase in the flow of goods alone would guarantee an additional economic value for the logistics of the Marche region of between 800 million and 1 billion per year.

Widening the horizon, the impact of the 105 projects could generate an incremental value for existing companies of up to 500 million, for the creation of new companies of up to one billion, and for the Marche districts of between 300 and 500 million. An estimate on the country system has also been made: in particular, considering all the interventions envisaged by the Marche Region's Infrastructure Plan for which a budget is already available, an overall value of the impacts that could potentially be generated on the Italian economy is determined as approximately 15.7 billion.