The American cruise giant Royal Caribbean, through the subsidiary “Fiumicino Waterfront S.r.l.”, has acquired the concession for the tourist port of Fiumicino-Isola Sacra, for the price of 11,450,000 euros. The operation is the result of the auction which took place following the bankruptcy procedure of the Company in liquidation by Iniziative Portuali.
The announcement of the Lazio Region just won by RC provides for the redevelopment of a port hub, which involved substantial decommissioning which was leading to a slow decline and degradation. With this move, despite the skepticism and opposition of some local committees not convinced of the environmental impact of the project that this choice would bring, there is the desire to rethink the space with a double objective: the introduction of a cruise new generation (for a single ship), responding to the highest standards of hospitality for its guests, and the remodeling of the prevailing yachting component towards the target of large yachts, in line with the current decisive evolution of this market segment.
For some, however, there would be the risk that this initiative would transform Fiumicino into a formidable competitor for Civitavecchia, the port of Rome as it is defined today. In fact, the latter is about eighty kilometers from the center of the Eternal City while Fiumicino would be much closer and would have the international airport a few kilometers away. In fact, the current connection between the airport and Civitavecchia is by no means optimal as there are no direct public services (for example, by train you have to return to Rome and then go back down to the sea). Obviously, connections with the new terminal should also be built in Fiumicino (as we know, logistics are essential for these investments) which would then become the Italian hub of the Royal Caribbean that would move ships from Civitavecchia.
(Source: The MediTelegraph)