The tender for the megayacht dock in the port of Bari will be open by the end of the year.

The project for the tourist port on Molo San Cataldo in the port of Bari is 90% complete.  announced at the beginning of May 2022 by the Technical Department of the Southern Adriatic Sea Port System Authority The update comes from Ugo Patroni Griffi, president of the port system authority, reported today on the website 'Il Quotidiano di Puglia'.

President Patroni Griffi announced that the tender for the new dock at the San Cataldo pier will be issued within the year, that the Port Authority will also prepare the expression of interest to build the city's first tourist port, and that "The Coast Guard has requested some changes, and we need to organize another meeting to finalize the situation. Once this aspect is finalized, we will hold a conference to validate the project and then proceed with the tender."

The €36 million project aims to both strengthen the infrastructure serving the logistics headquarters of the Port Authority and, simultaneously, create a dock for recreational boating.

Three new moorings, approximately 400 meters long, are planned for the currently underutilized port basin, as well as yards to be used as buildings for the General Command of the Port Authorities. The total surface area is 11.285 square meters, of which 6,361 square meters is the internal water surface.

The conformation of the docks will determine a body of water delimited to the south-west and south-east by the new works, to the north-west by the existing pier while to the north-east a protective barrier will be created for the same; the resulting surfaces could be dedicated to the tourist port, with some moorings for mega-yacht up to 100 meters in length.

"Once the tender for the Coast Guard docks is open," Patroni Griffi continues, "we will be able to publish an expression of interest addressed to private individuals for the management of the marina." The new pier will be able to accommodate up to 261 vessels: 59 up to 12 meters in length, 159 between 12 and 15 meters in length, and seven between 25 and 100 meters in length. A building will also be constructed to serve as a yacht club, complete with reception areas, a bar, a restaurant, and restrooms. "We are finalizing the final details of this crucial project," Patroni Griffi continues, "there is great interest in the future marina, a port that will bring benefits to the San Cataldo area and the entire city. The Southern Adriatic lacks a marina for medium and large vessels, and this is what we aim to achieve," Patroni Griffi concludes.

However, the timeframe is becoming longer than initially anticipated. Since May 2022, when the localized variant to the Port of Bari Master Plan was approved by the Port Authority's management committee, allowing for the launch of the tender for the final design and subsequent implementation of the executive design and construction site construction, discussions have begun with the Coast Guard to adapt the project to their needs. The hope is to launch the tender within the year and publish the expression of interest required to determine whether there is a private investor interested in building and managing the marina that will be created after the new dock is completed.

Once completed, the tourist pier will be flanked by the San Cataldo waterfront area, which will be completely redeveloped thanks to two projects the administration will soon launch: the new park at the foot of the lighthouse and the restyling of a stretch of the waterfront between the two intersections with Via Tripoli. The other project includes a staircase directly connecting the waterfront to the lighthouse area and the redevelopment of the beaches facing the Fiera del Levante.

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