Punta Ala Marina gets a makeover. An example of how to modernize a port

One of the first tourist marinas built in Italy is getting a makeover to match the times. We are talking about the Punta Ala Marina, which has been operating since 1976 but whose project dates back to the late 1950s, and which is now ready to become a landing place also equipped to accommodate long (and wide) modern boats. To better explain the modernization the port is undergoing, we interviewed Giovanni Tarantino, who with his Race Nautica (dealer Dufour, Fountaine Pajot and Solaris) is among the main shareholders of Marina di Punta Ala S.p.A.

John, to talk about the marina we start precisely with its corporate form, namely the joint stock company.

“The company that runs the marina is a kind of diffuse shareholding, so all of us shareholders own a certain number of shares that allows us to have the berth in the marina. It is different from other marinas where usually the owner is a company with a major shareholder that sells under the long rent formula the berths. So the state-owned concession for the Punta Ala Marina is directly with the person who owns the berth, and it is non-profit. So all costs and revenues of the marina are handled directly within the company, without an intermediary.”

Just recently the concession to Marina di Punta Ala S.p.A. was renewed, right?

“That’s right, in 2023 the state concession was renewed for 45 years, until 2078. Part of the renewal agreement includes precisely the modernization works that are now beginning, to enable the marina to develop in a manner appropriate to modern times.”

The redevelopment and expansion of the Punta Ala Marina has already begun, and will enable the port to become a modern and advanced landing place without disrupting its appearance. First of all, in the past year, the new water system and the one for network connections were built, with the provision for fiber optics. Now, however, the really “hot” work is beginning, both in the facilities at sea and on land.

The project involves a continuation of the breakwater above the breakwater, with the extension of the current one, and the construction of a new breakwater below the breakwater. This project will not only better protect the inner water area of the harbor, improving safety for all boaters, but also increase the number of berths (which currently number 885).

Another key point envisaged by the works is the adaptation of the port to the changing size of boats. Currently, boats with a maximum length of 28 meters can moor at the Punta Ala Marina, but at the end of the works an area dedicated to maxi yachts will be built here, able to accommodate boats of 30, 40 and up to 60 meters in length. This is because on the market – it is under everyone’s eyes – new boats are getting longer and longer, but also wider and wider, and therefore require adequate piers to berth them.

Parallel to the piers that allow large boats to be moored, on land there will be new facilities for hauling and launching maxi yachts. Also on land, the new esplanade with gardens and pedestrian areas will be built, where a new restaurant with windows looking directly out to sea will also be built. Not to be forgotten is the upgrade that will affect thearea designated for shipbuilding, which will be revised and expanded, also in view of the concession to the new manager. Finally, a new area will be built, expanding the current one, dedicated to thelanding of fishing boats for shelter in case of adverse marine weather conditions.

The planned investment to be able to make the Punta Ala Marina a “3.0” marina and that is, adapted to the times, the market and new boats, is about 50-60 million euros. As for timing, it will take no less than 2 years to see the new face of one of the major landmarks of Tuscan boating.