Agenzia del Demanio, in 2023 one billion in investments and savings of 70 million

State property as a tool for urban regeneration and territorial development to create economic, social, cultural and environmental value, in cooperation with central and local institutions and private investors. This is the vision of the Agenzia del Demanio, which manages and enhances the value of 44,000 properties worth EUR 62.8 billion. In 2023 it launched interventions for one billion euro, between its own resources and those of other administrations, and achieved 70 million in savings in passive leases (how much the PA pays to private parties to rent premises not owned by the State), cost cuts that from 2027 will reach 147 million euro per year, contributing to the structural reduction of public spending.
This is what emerges from the 2024 Report 'Italy and its assets. Creating value with state property', presented today at Palazzo Montecitorio in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Maurizio Leo. The document reports the results of one year of activity, takes stock of the progress of the interventions envisaged in the Strategic Industrial Plan, and identifies strategies to innovate management and enhancement actions.

"Our mission is to valorise state property, restoring it to its beauty, but above all bringing it back to the lives of citizens with functions that are more consistent with the changing context. In 2024 we will complement our vision with a more ambitious task: to create social, cultural, and environmental value on the territory through public real estate. Today the community becomes a participant and contributor to the creation of this value,' began the director of the Agenzia del Demanio, Alessandra dal Verme. "On the basis of the Mef's policy guideline, we have lowered spending on passive leases, and all designs have been developed by incorporating a set of 49 sustainability indicators (ESG), making them mandatory for all building interventions. in addition to parameters of safety from seismic risk and resilience to climate change.

In order to achieve these objectives, in 2021 the Authority has initiated real estate reutilisation and reuse operations amounting to approximately EUR 2.5 billion. The Real Estate Investment Plan 2024-2026 envisages the launch of new operations amounting to EUR 1 billion (of which EUR 490 million in the current year), to which EUR 1.2 billion will be added from funds of other administrations, totalling EUR 4.7 billion.
The Report records that in January 2024, compared to June 2021, the number of interventions increased by 47% (from 384 to 566) and the value of investments by 153% (from EUR 1.4 to 3.5 billion). The increase is even more significant for interventions also financed with resources provided by other state administrations for which the Agenzia del Demanio acts as the contracting authority: in the period under review the number of interventions has risen from 15 to 82 (+447%) with an increase in the value of investments of 212% (from €379 million to €1.1 billion).

The Investment Plan for the three-year period 2024-2026 envisages the start of new interventions amounting to EUR 1.08 billion, of which EUR 490 million already in 2024, in addition to the ongoing interventions with a total value of about EUR 3.5 billion. In addition, there are interventions that are being realised with the funds of other administrations, amounting to approximately EUR 1.2 billion.
Many large-scale operations are underway for the reuse of abandoned estates. Prominent among them is the construction of the Parco della Giustizia in Bari, which envisages the regeneration of a 15-hectare urban void and its transformation into a judicial pole to bring together the courts within an urban park, for an investment of over 405 million euro. As Dal Verme recalls, the project has been approved and the tender for the executive project and work execution has started. Other projects worth mentioning include the transformation of the former prison in Perugia from a place of punishment into a citadel of justice, for an investment of approximately €156 million; the restoration of the Manifattura Tabacchi in Turin, which will return a historic complex to the city, transforming it into a cultural centre thanks to an investment of approximately €130 million; the transformation into a green city for health, research and sustainable education of the Tor Vergata compendium in Rome, an initial part of which will be operational as early as the celebrations for the Jubilee of the Catholic Church in 2025 and will be able to accommodate more than 20,000 people, 8,000 of whom in the arena.

A new challenge for the Agenzia del Demanio is the involvement of private individuals in the redevelopment of state property and the regeneration of territories. There are 17 city plans drawn up by the agency. These plans bring together properties owned by the State but also by local authorities, in order to assess together the best destination for each property. This was discussed during the panel 'The State and private individuals together for the sustainable redevelopment of public real estate assets', moderated by constitutionalist Alfonso Celotto, which was attended by Director Alessandra dal Verme; Davide Albertini Petroni, President of Assoimmobiliare; Lelio Fornabaio, CEO of PtsClas; Antonella Manzione, State Councillor; and Veronica Vecchi, professor at Sda Bocconi. During the event, the Agenzia del Demanio also presented a position paper on public-private partnership, an initial analysis of the strategies and tools to be introduced through the legal institutions governed by the new Public Contracts Code.