BARI, 18.03.26
Construction crews broke ground Monday on the €340 million Porto Vecchio redevelopment, a mixed-use complex that will transform abandoned warehouses along Via Venezia into residential towers and commercial space. Regional councillor Marta Lorusso, speaking at the site ceremony, called the project "a turning point for Puglia's capital."
The redevelopment spans roughly 12 hectares of disused port land and will take an estimated five years to complete. Groundwork has already begun on deep foundations, with piling rigs visible from the Lungomare Nazario Sauro promenade. Our correspondents in Bari observed dozens of workers installing sheet piling along the seawall early this week. The project's general contractor, Costruzioni Adriatica SpA, has subcontracted structural steelwork to three regional firms. Local officials expect the first residential block to reach topping-out stage by late 2027. The timeline remains unclear for later phases, however, as permitting for the retail pavilion is still pending regional environmental review. Bari's old port quarter once handled grain exports across the Mediterranean; today only seagulls patrol its crumbling quays.
According to figures that could not be independently verified, Puglia's construction sector added 4,200 jobs last year, reversing a decade-long decline. The Osservatorio Edile Pugliese, a regional statistics body, attributed much of the growth to public infrastructure spending under Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. When we spoke with Giacomo Santoro, a site foreman with 22 years of experience, he described demand for skilled formwork carpenters as "unprecedented." Rising material costs remain a concern. Ready-mix concrete prices in the south have climbed 11 percent since January, according to ANCE Bari-BAT, the local builders' association. Developers have responded by locking in supply contracts months ahead of schedule. Steel reinforcement bars, known in the trade as rebar, have also seen volatile pricing, though recent weeks brought modest relief.
Residents living near the construction zone have voiced mixed reactions. Noise from pile-driving begins at 7 a.m. and continues until dusk. Some shopkeepers on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II complain of dust settling on outdoor café furniture. Others welcome the promise of new customers once apartments are occupied. City planners say green buffer zones and acoustic barriers will be installed before summer. The project includes a 2,000-square-metre public piazza designed by a Milanese architecture studio. Finishing works will feature local Trani stone cladding, a material synonymous with Apulian heritage. Whether the development can balance modernity with tradition is a question only time will answer.