A project involving the new construction of a marina on Ponza Island is in the approval process. The study conducted by CNR and La Sapienza University of Rome envisions the reclamation of the former Samip area-where there was once a mining operation-for Ponza’s new marina. According to early rumors, the infrastructure will be able to recover electricity by harnessing the wave motion of the sea, so it will become totally energy self-sufficient. This is something that should not be overlooked when it comes to water and energy supply, a problem that cannot be underestimated especially on an island as small as Ponza.
The Marina Cala dell’Acqua project in Ponza.
The project was presented by the CNR together with La Sapienza University of Rome, while the implementation is entrusted to a private company that won the municipal tender. The area on which the new landing place will be built is Cala dell’Acqua, on the island’s northwest coast, near Le Forna, in an area where a bentonite mine stood until the 1970s. The new port envisions the future presence of 279 berths with piers and docks, finger, shoreline and dead-body mooring. The maximum length of boats allowed will be 50 meters while the maximum draft will be as much as 16 meters, taking advantage of the rocky seabed of the area inside the breakwater, which is very deep.
Actually, a similar project had already been submitted a few years ago, but some bureaucratic problems had stopped the work. The new project reduces the number of berths (279, almost halved from more than 450 in the original project) and seems to benefit from the willingness of all institutions to succeed.
The construction of the port is included in the Plan approved by the Regional Council, further approval by the Ponza Municipality and adoption should come within 15 months, at which point work can begin, which will have an estimated duration of about 30 months. Therefore,summer 2028 is being looked at as the first – possible – opening season for the new port. Institutions, in the person of Lazio Regional Councilor Giancarlo Righini, confirmed the project’s absolute consistency with regional sustainability guidelines.
A new port in Ponza, especially in that area of the island, would be a very important driver for boosting nautical and even seaside tourism in one of the most beautiful island resorts in the Mediterranean.
