Sardinia, the 26 million call for transport in the minor islands comes to nothing

The EUR 26 million tender to connect the minor islands (La Maddalena and San Pietro Carloforte) with Sardinia came to nothing. There were no participants in the open tender for the concession of the public service of maritime transport of passengers, vehicles and goods for territorial continuity.

The tender, with a EUR 26 million auction base, was deserted like the others that have followed since 2022. The current service, which, as the region emphasises, 'will be guaranteed without interruption', is scheduled to expire on 31 December 2024.

"All possible hypotheses are already being evaluated in order to guarantee the right to mobility for the citizens of the islands concerned," emphasised the regional councillor for Transport Barbara Manca. The outcome that occurred was not a remote possibility given the precedents, but we were certainly hoping for greater interest on the part of the carriers after the efforts made in recent months to create a "balanced" call for tenders that would allow, on the one hand, compliance with the principles laid down by the Transport Regulatory Authority consistent with Community regulations, in particular compliance with the rules of transparency and non-discrimination, and, on the other, fair remuneration for the operators involved".

In order to find a solution, the regional administration aims to initiate discussions both with the government and with other regions facing similar situations. "The State invests around €14.5 million a year in the maritime continuity routes between Sardinia and the Peninsula connecting Genoa, Naples, Palermo and Civitavecchia," adds the Regional Executive's representative, "a figure well below what the Region spends on guaranteeing continuity with the smaller islands. A disproportion that explains how it is not enough to deploy more resources to ensure an essential and indispensable service. In this regard, we intend to initiate a discussion with the other regions that, like us, are facing the same complexity - Tuscany, Sicily, Lazio and Campania. We need to find shared solutions on a national scale that will enable us to break the deadlock and ensure connections without having to resort to emergency procedures'. Work is now underway to find immediate solutions and thus guarantee connections even after December.

"The peculiarity of maritime transport with the minor islands and the costs involved require those preparing the call for tenders to change course,' comments Arnaldo Boeddu, secretary general of Filt Trasporti Sardegna. 'Not having been able to assign, once again and for a duration of six to nine years, the connections with the minor islands is causing many difficulties for seafarers. We thought this could be a good opportunity to agree on further stabilisation and continuity of employment for all those workers who have been waiting years for stabilisation. We immediately call for the convening of a round table with the Region so that we can illustrate all the consequences of yet another extension.