by InTrieste
A 600-million-euro redevelopment plan for Trieste’s historic Old Port, hailed as a transformative project for the city, has sparked significant controversy. Only 160 million of the investment will come from public funds, with the bulk of financing secured through a private-public partnership, raising concerns among local politicians over transparency and public interest.
The project, presented as a ‘project financing’ initiative, includes the restoration of approximately 20 historic warehouses and the creation of a marina, sports center, and wellness facilities. While these public amenities will be granted in concession, local opposition leaders are sounding the alarm over plans to sell off most of the waterfront property to private developers.
According to Riccardo Laterza, leader of the civic movement Adesso Trieste, “It is currently planned that 19 warehouses will be sold to make way for private residences, hotels, shops, and offices, in line with the city’s zoning regulations.” He expressed concerns over the limited public benefit of the project. “Typically, project financing is used for public facilities—hospitals, therapeutic pools—when government funds are insufficient. In the Old Port, the vast majority of the project does not serve a public function,” Laterza argued.
The criticism comes as opposition leaders call for an extraordinary session of Trieste’s City Council to scrutinize the plan, arguing that the current process lacks transparency and proper consultation with the community. Paolo Altin, leader of the Punto Franco party, claimed the local government tried to push the project through during a period when there was limited time for councilors to review it.
“The council attempted to bring the project financing resolution to discussion on August 2nd or 5th, when we did not have enough time to prepare. This is why we are demanding an extraordinary session: if the entire process is conducted behind closed doors, it’s clear that transparency is lacking,” said Altin.
The decision to sell off a significant portion of the Old Port for private development has drawn fierce criticism, with some arguing that it reflects a larger pattern of sidelining public interests in favor of private capital. Altin also noted the unusual absence of Trieste’s Urban Planning Councillor, Michele Babuder, in discussions about what is arguably the most significant urban development project the city has seen in over a century.
“It’s curious that the Urban Planning Councillor is not involved at all in the largest urban intervention in the city in the last 150 years,” Altin said. “This reinforces the idea that the project doesn’t really belong to the city and that it’s being imposed without integration or consensus, even within the government’s majority,” added Giovanni Barbo, a councilor with the Democratic Party.
For opposition leaders, the extraordinary council session, which must be convened within 20 days of their request, is one of the few mechanisms they have to raise concerns about the project’s direction. Barbo emphasized that the resolution includes the project financing proposal as an integral component, but councilors have not been granted access to key documents.
Alessandra Richetti, a councilor from the Five Star Movement (M5S), expressed frustration over the timing of the deliberations, accusing the local government of deliberately trying to advance the project during the traditionally quiet week of Ferragosto, Italy’s mid-August holiday.
“It is outrageous that this is proceeding behind closed doors during the week of Ferragosto on such a hot and important issue for the city,” Richetti said. “We are demanding transparency, but also effectiveness: do we really want to squander this opportunity for the city, which will involve many interests, not necessarily represented by a single political reality?”
She added that the use of project financing—a tool typically intended for public infrastructure projects—should not be employed as a means of bypassing oversight. “It is absolutely unacceptable to attempt to hide behind project financing, which has specific rules regarding confidentiality, as a way of keeping district and municipal councilors in the dark,” she stated.
Interview: Riccardo Laterza, leader of the civic movement Adesso Trieste
