Development

Port, industry and blue economy: 'Invest in Syracuse' plan kicks off

Confindustria Siracusa, Irsap, the South East Chamber of Commerce and the Port Authority sign a protocol to build an integrated ecosystem. Five axes of intervention: logistics, energy, research, marine biotechnology and intelligent production areas

by Nino Amadore

8 May 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

An industrial territory looking for a new trajectory
The Five Axes of Protocol
Three-level governance
The message: "Invest in Syracuse"
European Funding Match

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Syracuse is trying to put its industrial and maritime vocation in order. Not with a simple declaration of intent, but with a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding that aims to transform the Syracuse area into an integrated Mediterranean ecosystem for the sea economy, logistics, energy, and innovation. The agreement was signed by Confindustria Siracusa, Irsap, the South East Chamber of Commerce and the Port System Authority of the Sea of Eastern Sicily. For the four entities, Gian Piero Reale, Marcello Gualdani, Antonino Belcuore and Francesco Di Sarcina signed the document. The operation was born around a precise idea: to present Syracuse no longer as the sum of separate parts - port, industrial hub, infrastructure, production areas, research - but as a territorial platform capable of speaking with a single voice to the Region, the State, the European Union and private investors.

An industrial territory looking for a new trajectory

In the text of the Protocol, the Syracuse area is described as an area endowed with 'port facilities, strategic infrastructures, industrial sites of European importance and potential in the field of research and innovation'. It is a picture that looks back to the industrial past, but above all to its possible transformation. The reference is not accidental. The agreement is part of the European Green Deal, the European Ocean Pact and the 2026-2028 Sea Plan, the national strategic planning document that the government is updating after the consultation launched in June 2025. The message is clear: territories that come prepared, with recognisable governance and projects already in order, have a better chance of intercepting public resources and private capital. Syracuse wants to try to be in this game not as a spectator, but as an organised industrial and maritime platform.

The Five Axes of Protocol

The Protocol identifies five lines of action. The first concerns ports, logistics, sea routes and sustainable shipbuilding. This is the chapter most directly related to the geographical position of the area and the possibility of strengthening the role of the Syracuse coastline in Mediterranean networks.

The second looks at energy from the sea, offshore and the ecological transition of industry. Here the connection with the production hub is clear: the challenge is not to erase the industrial vocation, but to accompany it towards more sustainable models.

The third axis is dedicated to marine research, environmental monitoring and safety. A decisive theme in an area where industrial development, environmental protection and sea monitoring must necessarily coexist.

The fourth axis is perhaps the most strategically significant: marine biotechnology, sustainable chemistry and advanced materials. It is here that the direction indicated to the Syracuse industrial system can be glimpsed. The petrochemical pole is not thought of as a legacy to be archived, but as a base to be reconverted and integrated with blue economy, bioeconomy and applied research. The document also refers to decarbonisation solutions, CCUS technologies and bio-based feedstock.

Finally, the fifth axis concerns green redevelopment, smart infrastructure and productive areas. The Protocol recalls digital twin, high-capacity networks and widespread sensor technology: Industry 4.0 tools applied to an area that for years has struggled to connect technological innovation and the local production base.

A three-tiered governance

The agreement also tries to respond to one of the historical nodes of development in the Mezzogiorno: institutional fragmentation. For this reason, the Protocol envisages three levels of governance. The first is a Strategic Steering Committee, with political-institutional functions. The second is an operational Coordination Table. The third is made up of thematic working groups, built around the individual axes of intervention. Confindustria Siracusa assumes the role of lead partner, with the task of directing institutional relations with the Region, State and European Union. A choice that assigns the enterprise system a central role: not only representation, but project construction capacity.

The message: "Invest in Syracuse"

The Protocol does not only speak to institutions. It also speaks to the market. The formula chosen is explicit: 'Invest in Syracuse'. The aim is to present the area as a credible interlocutor for Italian and foreign private capital. Port, industry, energy, logistics, production areas and institutional governance are put into a single framework. This is the credibility that the agreement aims to build. In order to broaden the private base of the initiative, the Protocol also provides for an Addendum addressed to local companies interested in expressing, in a non-binding form, their willingness to participate in the partnership. A mechanism designed to progressively increase the perimeter of the operation and measure the real level of interest of the production system.

European Funding Match

One of the most delicate points concerns the ability to intercept funding. To bridge the traditional deficit in accessing European funds, Confindustria Sicilia will support the partnership with a strategic accompaniment function. The objective is to strengthen the local system's capacity to build competitive applications for European, national, and regional programmes. Among the references is also the Regional Strategy of Intelligent Specialisation Sicily 2021-2027, which identifies the economy of the sea among the development priorities. This is a decisive step. Because the value of the agreement will be measured not on the quality of the framework, but on the ability to transform the strategic axes into funded projects, open yards, productive investments and qualified employment.