Last Friday, Christian Estrosi enthusiastically celebrated the “engagement” with his colleague “signora Sindaco” Marta Vincenzi, the Mayor of Genoa.
This partnership between the two capitals of the Riviera (Italian and French) is intended to be strategic and goes far beyond their common desire to promote a railway link worthy of the name. It takes into account the demands of modern mobility and envisages the implementation of a maritime transport plan for heavy traffic which, if realized, could reduce, at least to a large extent, the passage of 4,000 heavy goods vehicles at the old border post of Ventimiglia. The intent of this partnership is also to pool the geopolitics of the two cities towards the European Union (mainly the ERDF funds via EGTC) and the role each can play within Eurocities (Genoa) and Euromed (Nice).
This capacity for perspective and this international alliance integrating two city-territories can only be praised. The future Nice-Metropole and Genoa, which already has a significant territorial extension stretching from Voltri to the shores of Tigullio along the sea and up to Polcevera towards the Apennines. Moreover, their historical past is shared. Nice and Genoa are identical from a socio-economic point of view and need to relaunch themselves on the international stage given their secondary role positioning today: Nice with its eternal inferiority complex towards Marseille and Genoa which lost its status as the third corner of the ‘industrial triangle’ of the ’60s (the other two being Turin and Milan).
But relationships and alliances are also formed through concrete actions.
That is why the privatization (60% of the capital) of Genoa airport could be one of those occasions that ensure the “protocols” do not remain merely beautiful intentions but actions consequently follow.
Genoa airport needs a partner who not only brings money but also a concrete strategy with enough influence to integrate this contribution into a global strategy. The partner must give it an important role and possess expertise in the management of such a structure. They should be able to provide it with a level of competitiveness in line with international standards. Doesn’t Nice airport, which is nine times larger than its Genoese counterpart, have all these characteristics? Opportunities, even unforeseen ones, arise and you must know how to seize them… So why miss this one?
Moreover, wasn’t it Machiavelli, the inventor of political science, who made one of his characters in his novel “La Mandragola” say… “da cosa nasce cosa” even if he prudently added “and let time govern it”? Can the same be said of Christian Estrosi’s “thought”?So, Nice and Genoa: from “engagement” to “pact”?
This Monday, therefore, the Port Authority Council (Autorità Portuale) will deliberate on the procedure for the call for tenders for the privatization of the Cristoforo Colombo airport in Genoa despite the opposition from unions who fear that this operation will result in a major restructuring with job cuts. But while this operation may be delayed, it cannot be avoided (due to the law).
But the scenario is even more “cloudy” if one considers that local authorities, already affected by the restrictive budgetary policy of the Italian Government and who will be further affected in the future due to the mechanisms of fiscal federalism as announced, do not have the financial means to be an active part in the operation.
Thus, beyond the ever-useful banking foundations that continue to play the role of fund providers, the risk is not knowing who will enter the capital and management of an airport already marginalized in its positioning on the national and international market. And this with the strategies and their implementation that we know when it comes to finance.
Moreover, some names of potential investors are beginning to circulate in the “circles” of the Liguria capital and … it is thus very understandable that the preferred option is that of an “industrial” partner who can bring expertise and use the Genoese airport as a key piece in a more comprehensive strategy.
The advisor KPMG has already prepared an analysis and proposal document for the call for tenders to solicit applications.
Similarly, an estimate of the value of the portion of the capital that will be put up for sale (60%) has been evaluated. But on this point Nice Premium, which is aware, prefers to remain discreet for confidentiality reasons.
