The control room of the Bagnoli reclamation and work on the America’s Cup ended with the government’s green light for the executive project and the schedule proposed by the Government Commissioner and the Mayor of Naples Gaetano Manfredi. The “most complex” work at sea essentially begins with cleaning up war weapons. And those on land involve sea embankments which, among other things, will become the operational base for Formula One at sea, starting from the hangar and also the America’s Cup village. With pre-regatta betting could be held in the summer of 2026 to test the operational base that should be ready by that period.
In fact, all construction sites will open between the end of the year and January 2026 as scheduled. In the background remains the controversy of outgoing Regional President Vincenzo De Luca – from Monday the institution of Santa Lucia will have a new Governor – who also yesterday in his regular broadcast on social media attacked Manfredi. According to the former mayor of Salerno, the Commissioner’s report lacked “important elements of clarity, transparency, information to citizens and also administrative correctness”. Furthermore, De Luca reiterated that «We do not yet have a clear opinion from the anti-corruption authorities. It is in our interest that the America’s Cup be held but it cannot be held in the context of illegal demolitions.” Serious, but not new, allegations that Manfredi did not address directly. However, from Palazzo San Giacomo, they stated that “dialogue and engagement of the Anti-Corruption Authority regarding documents and procedures for the construction site continues”.
America’s Cup in Bagnoli, from reclamation to ship hangar: «Work completed in June»
In short, in the procedural and formal aspects «we have everyone’s opinion and they have told us that this is the path to follow. The most important thing is to do something for Naples and do it in Naples.” The mayor – and the Government – are confident that everything is fine. And in the summer the city will taste the first appetizers of the sailing competition. However, the mayor is very upset from a political point of view because of the constant attacks of De Luca. Who published the Manfredi report on the site of the Regions that should be classified as established by the Government, with the findings of the outgoing Governor without an answer from the mayor who has also spoken publicly on anti-corruption issues. In this context, the relationship between Manfredi and “Sport e Salute”, a Mef company and organizing body of the America’s Cup, is consolidating: The Commissioner and the leaders of the Society will undertake a kind of “grand tour” in which they will present the Neapolitan edition of the most prestigious and oldest sailing event in the world. «The general structure of the America’s Cup Program – we read in Manfredi’s report – is based on an integrated vision: infrastructure works, on land and at sea, designed in a coordinated and functional way with the interventions foreseen by the Bagnoli Plan».
First of all, it should be reiterated that the America’s Cup construction site greatly accelerates urban regeneration and reclamation of the site of the former iron factory on the one hand. And on the other hand they anticipate a “more complex” coastal and marine rehabilitation scheduled for 2032 and to be largely completed by 2027. The financial allocation for the America’s Cup is 254 million – which is settled through customs in the control room – provided by the national executive. An open construction site that will continue with «the demolition of the central pier and encroaching structures to allow for a new configuration of the sea front; environmental dredging of 130 thousand cubic meters of sediment, using low impact techniques and anti-turbidity dams, to ensure seabed uniformity and suitability for navigation; construction of three circumferential cliffs with a total length of approximately 1,360 meters, made of natural stone and concrete blocks”. The basis for defending against storm waves what will be part of the bathing waterfront returned to the city after the America’s Cup, namely the front of the reclamation. «35 subcontracting companies have been appointed – we read in Manfredi’s report – with a total of more than 200 workers already working for various specialist jobs, in compliance with the Legality Protocol with the Prefecture of Naples with a real positive impact also in terms of the field work» In terms of accessibility, the effort is strong with Manfredi ready to hold a decision-making service conference with the authority of the commissioners for the new station of line 2 of the metro Fs Which carried out a “sustainability study for the “Porta del Parco” station which showed that the short timeframe required to complete the work in spring 2027 made it important to speed up the entire authorization process».
