European project CO-EVOLVE: the desanding plant with ejectors is at work in the Port of Cattolica

The information day on the use of the ejector plant installed at the hauling and launching basin of the Port of Cattolica took place on 17th January. The day was organised by Trevi SpA, a leading foundation engineering company, on behalf of the Emilia-Romagna Region, within the specific contract for the supply of components and installation services, and it was hosted by the Casa Del Pescatore cooperative.

The plant - financed with the funds of the European project CO-EVOLVE (Interreg MED Program, FESR) of which the Emilia-Romagna Region is a partner - was installed in August 2018. After having passed the 5 months duration test phase with excellent results, it has now entered the ordinary operating phase. The plant will prevent the accumulation of sediments and maintain, over time, a suitable depth for the functions carried out by the haulage and launch basin and the opposite port area. The monitoring, coordinated by the University of Bologna (Department of Industrial Engineering) was commissioned by the Emilia-Romagna Region as part of the project for a period of 12 months; it highlighted positive effects from the very first months of operation and enabled the setting-up of the system also in terms of its energy efficiency.

The information day was attended by technicians from the Region - Land, Coast and Land Reclamation Service Defence, the Regional Agency for Territorial Security and by representatives of the Port Authority of Rimini - Local Maritime Office of Cattolica, the Cooperative Casa del Pescatore and the Marina di Cattolica company; it was dedicated to the technicians of the municipality of Cattolica and the shipyard in the concession area, i.e., those who will take care of the operational management and maintenance of the plant.

The supply of the plant was made possible thanks to the networking activity between the LIFE Marina Plan Plus project, of which Trevi Spa is coordinator, and the INTERREG MED CO-EVOLVE project. In fact, the first industrial scale application of the experimental technology installed in Cattolica will be carried out at the entrance of the port of Cervia, where the installation activities of the plant are nearing completion.