April 14, 2022
Sicily Region has received no offers following the tender officially launched some weeks ago for finding shipyards interested in building a first new ropax vessel to be deployed on the routes to and from Lampedusa and Pantelleria islands.
A first tender launched last year already failed at finding interested parties for building two units.
Tender price had been increased to EUR 100 million for one vessel (of which 4.5 million are a fixed value related to safety equipment), while last year the same contract was worth EUR 130 million for two units.
As a consequence, the plan of the Sicily Region to have a first unit ready for deployment before the summer season 2024 will have to be reviewed.