The project for the redevelopment of the multipurpose pier and the extension of the mooring wharf of the Port of Taranto involved structural works designed to achieve the following objectives:

• modifying the water depth from -14.50/-15.50 metres to the required -16.50 metres, safeguarding the stability of the existing caisson structures;
• work on the quayside tracks to support high-performance and heavy-duty cranes; as a result, the 24th row of the project vessel, a new-generation container ship, was reached;
• the upgrading of installation networks such as the drainage and medium and low voltage electrical systems.

Since it was not possible to adapt the existing structures to the new depth of the system, the most suitable configuration for the project was to extend the quay on piles along the existing alignment of the caissons by executing the following works:

• the construction of a new pile-supported wharf along the first 1,200 metres of the Multipurpose Pier, with the associated extension of the wharf front by approximately 10 metres;
• the construction of a new ground-side track on a pile framework with a total runway distance of 100 feet;
• the restructuring and upgrading of installation networks (electricity, drainage, etc.);
• dredging within an area of 1,200 x 20 metres from the current edge of the pier with temporary storage of the material in onshore basins in the area formerly known as the 'Belleli area', which also included the relevant environmental assessments and classification procedures;
• the fitting of new wharf fixtures (fenders, bollards, etc.) and the installation of new equipment (four 24-row cranes);
• implementing measures to avoid, mitigate or compensate for negative environmental impacts;
• environmental monitoring