The Veneto Port Authority is the lead partner of the DIGITPORTS project: over 2.3 million euros available for ‘digital twins applications’ in Adriatic ports
Venice, 18 December – 5 projects received funding for over 12 million euros under the first call for Standard Projects of the cross-border cooperation programme Interreg Italy-Croatia 2021-2027 managed by the Veneto Region. The ports of Venice and Chioggia take centre stage in the new projects that will strengthen cooperation between Italian and Croatian ports in the field of maritime and sustainable multimodal transport as well as the promotion of solutions to reduce the adverse environmental and social impacts of tourist flows in the Adriatic region.
In particular, the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority will coordinate the innovative project ‘DIGITPORTS -DIGITal Twins applications for safer and greener Adriatic PORTS operations’. Funded with over € 2.3 million (of which over € 480,000 to be used by the Port Authority of Venice and Chioggia), the project will develop the digital twins application, i.e. the digital replication (virtualization) of port ecosystems through the processing of large amounts of data, simulations, artificial intelligence and machine learning, which is intended to boost the efficiency of both management processes and operations in the Veneto ports and in those of Ravenna, Trieste, Rijeka, Ploce, Zadar and Split.
The other 4 cooperation projects between Italian and Croatian ports eligible for funding are: MILEPORT aimed at improving the last-mile accessibility of the Adriatic ports through the development of shared digital planning and IT tools, such as vehicle reservation systems, optimised transport flows and port gates, to be tested by means of local pilot actions; CRESPORT, whose purpose is to equip the ports in the region with a more secure and resilient IT infrastructure by adopting a common cybersecurity strategy; CROSS-CONNECT for the development of an integrated multimodal maritime-land system for managing passenger and baggage flows, from ports to urban and airport areas. It will include pilot actions for the adoption of smart solutions to improve baggage handling between the port system of Venice and Chioggia and the airport system of Venice; finally, ADRIJOROUTES, which involves eight maritime cities on the two shores of the Adriatic and looks at ways of improving the environmental, social and cultural sustainability of tourism flows arriving from the sea through the promotion of quality experiences that favour contact with local communities, their traditions and “pace”, encouraging visitors to immerse themselves in a cultural and natural heritage of outstanding value. The financial commitment of AdSPMAS for these 5 actions is approximately € 1.7 million, 100% co-funded by non-repayable grants.