With more than 500 employees – 90% of whom are based in Genoa – and a role that has been firmly established as the top customer of the Port of Genoa and the second-largest customer of Italy’s entire port system, Hapag-Lloyd is committed to the Italian market. It consistently ranks fifth among the world’s largest container shipping companies and operates around 300 ships and 21 terminals worldwide, with Genoa as a strategic location for the Group since the 1990s and, since almost six years, the ‘capital’ of the South Europe Region, which oversees the entire Mediterranean area for the container transport company.
Hapag-Lloyd is the German shipping and logistics group listed on the stock exchange, with shareholders including Kuhne Maritime, CSAV (Compañia Sudamericana de Vapores), Qatar Holding, Public Investment Fund and the City of Hamburg. The company ranks amongst the top international investors who have placed – and are ready to renew – their trust in Italy.
Hapag-Lloyd has invested several hundred million Euro´s in the Port of Genoa (also in light of major infrastructure projects such as the Breakwater and the Third Railway Pass), based on a concession originally set to expire in 2056, relying on a stable, reliable, trustworthy and transparent cooperation relationship with Italian authorities and a clear regulatory framework.
“With employment levels having doubled since 2018 and with the company taking direct responsibility for another 700 workers in the port terminal and interconnected logistics, today we are ready,” emphasizes Hapag-Lloyd Italy, “to reaffirm our strategic choices. That is precisely why we seek the highest level of transparency in our dealings with institutions, as part of our right and duty to protect our investments and, by extension, our shareholders.
With our fleet of around 300 ships and our involvement in the Gemini cooperation we require certainty and predictability to continue to invest and grow our business in Italy. We cannot execute the plans if we get confronted with a concession that – beyond our control – is suddenly set to expire at the end of next June, thirty-one years ahead of the original 2056 expiration date that justified our investment in the terminal at the Port of Genoa.”
” We are confident and trust in the excellent ongoing collaboration with the Italian government, as a foundation for resolving misunderstandings, reactivating the concession, and laying the groundwork for the development of traffic through Genoa and for employment growth”.
Source: Hapag-Lloyd