Raw materials, security of supply, industrial resilience and the strategic role of ports in safeguarding our country’s sovereignty were the key themes at the conference promoted by ONTM – the National Observatory for the Protection of the Sea – and the Port System Authority of the Central-Northern Adriatic Sea, based in Ravenna.

The event – opened by video messages from Ministers Francesco Lollobrigida and Adolfo Urso and Deputy Minister Edoardo Rixi – brought together businesses and institutions from the Ravenna area, along with numerous industry operators, in the Sala del Refettorio at the Chamber of Deputies. Among the speakers was Francesco Benevolo, President of the Port System Authority of the Central-Northern Adriatic Sea.

“The Port of Ravenna is a strategic hub: its location is instrumental in ensuring efficient global connections, both for incoming and outgoing goods – from Northern European countries to Asia – enabling our companies to remain integrated within international supply chains,” explained Chairman Antonio Marcegaglia.

“Its strength lies in intermodality – ship, rail and road – integrated with European corridors and motorway networks. This feature highlights, now more than ever, the need to modernize Italy’s infrastructure system. In today’s increasingly complex scenario, with shorter and more fragmented value chains, logistics has become an even more critical factor for any manufacturing company. It means greater reliability in deliveries, improved cost control, faster access to markets and higher productivity and sustainability. For this reason, investing in projects such as the ‘Ravenna Port Hub’ is essential to fully leverage the potential of an indispensable hub supporting the competitiveness of the entire production system.”