Webuild and Genoa Aquarium: together to safeguard the marine ecosystem while building the New Breakwater

Sea species moved temporarily to genoa aquarium as works proceed in the construction site

Genoa, March 25, 2024 - Safeguarding the marine ecosystem in the underwater construction site of the New Genoa Breakwater while promoting an eco-responsible approach in the infrastructure sector: this is why the Webuild-led consortium promoted a partnership with the Genoa Aquarium (Acquario di Genova), to safeguard the sea life taken from the seabed where works are being carried out, moving all species to the structure so that they can subsequently be moved back to their original location, off the Genoa shore, when works are completed.

The Webuild-Genoa Aquarium (Acquario di Genova)collaboration was promoted and authorized by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Safety. It includes temporarily moving the sea life found and registered during the underwater analyses carried out along the entire seabed of the new breakwater, coordinating with expert scientific operators and sea biologists. Keeping the surrounding eco-system as it was before works began is a fundamental part of the project, as the latter is strategic for the Italian port system. The new breakwater will be built by the Webuild-led consortium, with Fincantieri Infrastructure Opere Marittime, Fincosit and Sidra, on behalf of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority.

Some gorgoniae specimens, colonial invertebrates that belong to the Leptogorgia sarmentosaspecies, have already been taken from the seabed where the new breakwater will be located and moved to the Aquarium, where they are cared for by a team of biologists as they get used to the new environment and during the monitoring phase. Gorgoniae live up to a 200 metre-depth. Despite being shaped like a plant, they are actually marine animals (colonial invertebrates). Just like corals, they are made from very small animals, polyps, which act as a sole organism.

As of date, along the seabed where the new breakwater will be built, the technical activities on the area where the new work will be built are concomitantly being carried out: i.e. building more than 2,400 submerged gravel columns, laying about 1.2 million tonnes of material, and searching for underwater unexploded ordnances, all of which are expected, as of date, to be completed by the end of this summer.

The New Genoa Breakwater has been built to improve access to the port of Genoa even to modern "Ultra Large" ships, therefore consolidating Genoa's port system's growth and its role within Europe. The work belongs to the Rhine-Alps Corridor of the TEN-T Trans-European transport network to which the Terzo Valico dei Giovi-Genoa Junction One Project also belongs, which has also been built by Webuild.

The agreement with Genoa Aquarium highlights Webuild Group's commitment to promoting sustainable construction practices and partnerships serving environmental safeguarding activities, globally: i.e., from Australia's Snowy Project 2.0 to the massive interventions to strengthen high-speed and high-capacity rail in the South of Italy.

The Genoa Aquarium is managed by Costa Edutainment. It has been always committed to safeguarding and safeguarding sea life species through many projects: i.e. from recovery, care and release activities relating to sea turtle specimens, with the authorization of the Italian Ministry, to the reproduction of species that risk extinction, to taking in specimens sent from the authorities and caring for animals to safeguard for the time needed to recreate in nature the appropriate situation for them.