Taranto, the Just Transition Fund now accelerates: first tenders start

The Just Transition Fund, the instrument launched by the European Union with a total endowment of EUR 800 million to accompany the area's industrial and economic reconversion after the long cycle of steel production linked to the former Ilva, is now in gear in Taranto. The fund is now entering a more concrete phase: in fact, the tenders for the 'Green Supply Chains' project, headed by reclamation commissioner Vito Felice Uricchio, are about to start, while the measures dedicated to business accelerators and large companies, included in the Jtf perimeter after the reprogramming approved in December by the supervisory committee meeting in Taranto, are also on the launching pad. "The Jtf is going well and we are beginning to see the first results," notes Vincenzo Cesareo, president of the Chamber of Commerce. "The bonus that the Jtf makes available to companies in Taranto and Sulcis provides a not inconsiderable lever for subsidised finance and investment. The first numbers confirm that the territory is reacting. According to the latest report illustrated by Eugenio Di Sciascio, councillor for Economic Development of the Apulia Region, 66 investment proposals have arrived from the Taranto area for a total value of around EUR 160 million. In detail, these include 11 Pia for 100 million and 55 Mini Pia for 66 million. Added to this is the picture provided by Gianna Elisa Berlingerio, director of Economic Development for the Puglia Region, according to whom the department has already activated five measures for a total ceiling of 156 million. "Right now we have opened Pia, Mini Pia, Trasformazioni and Tecnonidi. Reti per Taranto we have opened it, the first window has closed and a second one will open shortly. Soon we will also open Nidi. This is just for economic development. Then there are the calls for tenders for training the unemployed and for the unemployed laid-off'.

The available resources are already distributed over several lines: 70 million for Pia, 40 million for Mini Pia, a total of 30 million for Reti per Taranto after the refinancing of the second window, 8 million for Trasformazioni, 20 million for Tecnonidi and another 20 million for Nidi. These are over-the-counter measures designed to support productive investments, technological innovation, experimental development, environmental protection, energy efficiency, new entrepreneurial initiatives, women's, youth and tourism enterprises, as well as new production and service models. 'There is a good draught,' Berlingerio confirms. The point today is this: more than a single incentive, building an ecosystem seems to count. Getting trade associations, consultants, universities and public bodies around the same table is considered one of the main hubs for making the transition really work. The experience of Faros, Cdp's accelerator dedicated to the blue economy, which is already operating in the Taranto area and is likely to become part of the Jtf, also fits into this framework. "We are working on another call for proposals that will be for accelerators, not just Faros, also in the Taranto area. It will take some time, because on accelerators the region has never made any,' Berlingerio further explains.

On the large enterprise front, the region is ready to expand the fund's scope. "The calls for tenders will start with the next windows, considering that the current ones are for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The timeframe remains tight. Each project follows the deadlines set by the relevant call, but as they are over-the-counter measures, the windows may close even earlier if the funds are exhausted. The final Jtf reporting is set for 2029. The Region aims to launch the entire package of initiatives between this year and next, to allow time to present projects, implement them and bring them to fruition. The interventions entrusted to the commissioner structure for land reclamation are also advancing. Sub-commissioner Maria Stefania Fornaro announces that for "Filiere Verdi" "the tenders are imminent. Contacts have already been activated with Invitalia'. The project has a budget of 33 million euro and will affect 90 hectares of public areas in the province of Taranto, more than the 76 initially planned. Two tree species, poplar and paulonia, selected from 700 possible varieties, will be planted here, along with several shrub species, including brassica, castor and hemp. The aim is the decontamination of the soils and their gradual return to agricultural use. The other key component is Sea Hub, which has a budget of 48 million. "We are together with the municipality of Taranto and we are building the project, which envisages the recovery of the Mar Piccolo coastline and the return to legality of all activities," says Fornaro. Sea Hub aims at a broader environmental redevelopment, also functional to the reorganisation of landing points, the construction of a docking pier and the development of productive activities. The commissariat will also work on the paths, the Circummarpiccolo and the northern arch. The negotiated procedure with the Region is underway for Sea Hub.