Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has formed a new company to expand the freight transport logistics network between ports in Italy and the rest of Europe.
An MoU was signed between MSC and Italy´s Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane to build new terminals dedicated to intermodal maritime traffic.
The deal was signed in Geneva in the presence of the chief executive of FS, Luigi Ferraris, and Gianluigi Aponte chairman of the MSC Group, with the aim to expand the freight transport logistics network to and from Italian and European ports.
A new company will be established jointly owned by Mercitalia Logistics (51%) and Medlog (49%), an MSC Group company specializing in intermodal transport and logistics, to design, build and operate new cargo terminals at sites controlled by the two groups in Italy.
The announcement follows another agreement signed between the two companies in September last year, which laid the foundation for an assessment of possibility in creating a commercial and operational partnership for the development of combined maritime transport.
The new partnership will enable the creation of new terminal capacity based on the development of maritime intermodal traffic, to and from Italian ports, improving the quality of services and providing a competitive alternative to road transport as well as on the Italy-Northern Europe axis.
Sabrina De Filippis, chief executive of Mercitalia Logistics, said: “The agreement is part of the initiatives envisaged in our business plan, providing for the strengthening of existing terminals and the creation of new technologically advanced and low environmental impact multimodal hubs. This will enable us to increase the volume of goods transported by train, thanks to the increasingly effective connection of our ports and terminals to the national network and to European railway corridors, consolidating the integration of sea-rail-road transport systems.”
Giuseppe Prudente, chief logistics officer of the MSC Group and president of Medlog, pointed out that “This important agreement is the result of a project that began with the ambition of creating one of the most important operators in Europe, offering customers optimized and ever more sustainable logistics solutions.”
