A financially sound administration, which pays its invoices promptly, with an efficient public works planning capacity. This is the picture that emerges from the Final Balance Sheet and Annual Report 2024, approved this morning by the Management Committee.
The North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority has successfully achieved all its 2024 institutional objectives, It fully respected the deadlines in the annual schedule envisaged in its Three-Year Works Programme, reaching the Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport’s targets. The construction site for the works envisaged by the Complementary National Fund was also set up as planned. The implementation of the Cold Ironing project in the ports of Livorno, Piombino, and Portoferraio is to start in December.
The successful management of the budget was illustrated by senior administrative executive Simone Gagliani. He pointed out that the budget closed with a €86.9 million surplus, although it had been reduced by €12 million over the year. The Authority collected a total of €24.2 million in port and anchorage taxes during the year. Its current overall revenue stands at €43 million.
In 2024, the Port Network Authority (PNA) committed €57.9 million for upgrading its Network ports.
€42.5 million of which was provided by the State. It was partially allocated to waterfront environmental mitigation projects and landscape mitigation work in the port of Piombino (a total of €25 million).
Other resources have been earmarked for the construction of a photovoltaic plant at a location in the Collesalvetti area (€4.7 million), the completion of the new Border Control Point in the port of Livorno (€2.9 million), and the construction of a photovoltaic plant on car park roofing in Piombino (for a total of €1.2 million).
Likewise, €10.6 million (€7.1 million of which from the PNRR’s EU Net Generation funds, and €3.5 million from own revenues) earmarked for the construction of a new cold storage facility at the Freight Village. In total, the authority has invested €5.17m from its own resources in port infrastructure work .
In terms of current expenditure, it should be noted that the PNA managed to further reduce its already excellent invoice payment times for supplies and services in 2024. The annual payment time indicator – calculated as the sum, for each invoice issued in return for a commercial operation, of the actual days elapsing between the invoice payment deadline or equivalent request for payment – has recorded an average of 10.8 days in advance of contractual deadlines (in 2023 the average was 4.6 days in advance).
The annual report also shows that in 2024 the Port Authority managed to tighten its port control activities, carrying out 185 inspections, 110% more compared to the previous year.
The implementation and simplification of IT software produced more than satisfactory results, with the publication of a call for tenders for upgrading the Tuscan Port Community System, that digitalizes and simplifies information flows related to goods being imported and exported through the Port of Livorno.
On the training front, the PNA redoubled its efforts, successfully managing to upskill 98% of its employees and candidating eight training projects designed to upgrade port worker skills and professionalism for funding.
“The Network ports’ balance sheet and annual report paint a positive picture for its governance,” said Special Commissioner Luciano Guerrieri.
“Our administration’s virtuous management of its accounts has been rewarded. Our endeavor to limit our expenses has not, however, prevented us from carrying out the necessary infrastructural work envisaged in the Three-Year Works Programme, with an eye to environmental sustainability and digital innovation. Overall, over the past five years the PNA has invested over €800 million in upgrading its infrastructure,” he added.
“Our prompt payment for supplies and raising quality and quantity standards of port control activities have been the hallmark of the excellent work all our organization has contributed to this year ,” he concluded.
Port Network Authority managing director Matteo Paroli, expressed his satisfaction. In particular, he focused on the excellent results the PNA achieved in 2024: “Once again this year we have achieved all the objectives that our Ministry attributed to our President and, in turn, to the entire administration,” he said. “The overall picture shows how the Authority has accelerated its capital expenditure and at the same time strengthened its anti-corruption measures, improving safety and upgrading our current IT services by transferring them to the national cloud,” he added. “Finally, it is important to stress that the personnel costs incurred by our organization, i.e. 31% of our total expenses, are in line with the costs private companies sustain.”
Translation by Giles Foster
