The plan to decommission the old, long-unproductive facilities, initiated by the Sassari Provincial Industrial Consortium on the site of the former Porto Torres petrochemical plant, marks a decisive step forward for the future of the industrial waterfront. The CIPS (Italian Industrial Consortium for the Protection of the Environment) has published a tender for the decommissioning of the former Cementir site, formerly Alba Cementi, which closed in 1983. The site comprises approximately 43,000 square meters of land to be converted into high-potential sectors such as shipbuilding and recreational boating. The project, valued at over €3.1 million, represents a key step in the regeneration of one of the most strategic industrial sites in Northwest Sardinia.
The work involves the demolition of the existing above-ground structures and their underground foundations, as well as the complete management of related environmental activities, in full compliance with current safety and environmental protection regulations. The eighty-meter-tall chimney tower was knocked down by strong mistral winds in November 2022. "With the publication of this tender," stated Simona Fois, President of the Sassari Provincial Industrial Consortium, "we are taking a concrete and long-awaited step, marking the beginning of a new phase for the former Cementir area and the stretch of waterfront outside the perimeter controlled by Eni, near the ASI eastern pier of the Porto Torres industrial port. We are working on a strategic area, restoring its safety, environmental dignity, and new development prospects."
The areas to be rehabilitated and converted to new production uses also include the former Ferriera Sarda, as well as the only orphan site, the areas related to the bankruptcy of Vinyls Italia SpA (€14 million) within the Porto Torres Site of National Interest. A comprehensive €40 million plan could see this figure doubled, in light of new projects to acquire abandoned areas and revitalize the production area with other maritime-related ventures. The resources involved are those allocated by the Region to the Industrial Consortium and sourced from the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development. "Decommissioning," continues the president, "is not just a technical intervention, but a clear political choice: freeing up spaces that are currently compromised and making them available again for investment, employment, and quality projects. This action looks to the future of the region and strengthens the role of the CIPSS as a promoter of industrial and logistics development at the regional level."
