Sorgente Group acquires the Otranto tourist port
Work on the Apulian marina's offshore section could begin as early as this winter. 400 berths are planned.
The American group Sorgente Group has acquired the core branch of the Condotte Group, currently in extraordinary administration. The Condotte Group, through its extraordinary administrators, had already acquired the maritime concession for the construction of the Otranto Marina in 2021. Quotidiano di Puglia reported the news today, also noting that work on the marina's offshore section, which will have 400 berths, could begin as early as this winter.
After ten years spent obtaining the necessary permits, the Condotte Group, specializing in the design and construction of major projects, entered extraordinary administration in 2018. At that time, Condotte comprised approximately one hundred shareholdings divided into various operating, project, and consortium companies. These included Inso Spa, later acquired by Fincantieri. Now, the Sorgente Group has acquired the core branch of the Condotte Group, which already held the maritime concession for the construction of the port.
Following the stalemate that arose after the signing of the maritime concession in 2021, the extraordinary commissioner of the Municipality of Otranto, Vincenza Filippi, requested a new meeting with the Regional Government. On that occasion, the Condotte commissioners offered a surety bond for the entire amount required for the fifty-year concession, through Fincantieri (to guarantee the solidity of the investment).
The €14,2 million construction project for the Otranto marina, which will be transferred from the Condotte branch of the company to the Sorgente group, is part of a package that includes 10 major contracts for other projects in Italy, Algeria, and Kuwait, worth a total of €1.2 billion. The project will create a total of 425 new jobs, 160 of which will be in Italy.
For the Marina di Otranto, the works at sea which include the external arm, the docks and the berths can be carried out immediately, while some of the works on land will be subject to the General Urban Planning Procedure.
The project, previously acquired by Fincantieri (to which Condotte made modifications to meet the buyer's requests), is expected to include approximately 200 berths for superyachts over 40 meters in length to meet market demand, especially charter, which sees Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece as preferred destinations and Otranto as a hub.
The large American group will therefore manage the important marina located at the center of the aforementioned tourist routes. Sorgente Group Italia and Sorgente Group of America (USA) are part of Sorgente Group Alternative Investment (USA), whose main shareholder is the Mainetti family.
In addition to publishing the daily newspaper "Il Foglio," the Sorgente Group is comprised of 94 companies (real estate, finance, and real estate services) operating and located in Italy, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, the United States, and Brazil. It owns a vast real estate portfolio, including buildings of historic and architectural significance (including Manhattan's most famous skyscraper), to which the Marina di Otranto, Italy's easternmost tourist port, has now been added. According to Sorgente Group, construction could begin as early as next winter.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE SUPER YACHT 24 NEWSLETTER
