Genoa's Breakwater: Scheduling the Work Between Foundation and Opening

Three linked production sequences

Genoa's new breakwater reached 1,670 metres on 13 October 2026 after PerGenova Breakwater placed its second caisson in eight days. At Vado Ligure, the next units were still being built for tow-out and sinking. Seabed preparation, caisson fabrication, placement and filling were proceeding concurrently. The programme therefore has several production clocks, each tied to a different quantity and a different release decision. ^[1]

The foundation lead needs a released work front

Regione Liguria's 9 July site account reported gravel placement at 99%, corresponding to about 2.79 million tonnes, seabed consolidation columns at 92.5%, and 26 of 73 caissons installed. The caisson count represents 35.6% of that stated unit total. The three measures describe the work fronts at that July observation; the October release supplies a later length milestone. ^[2]

A caisson casting sequence commits labour, concrete and fabrication space before the marine operation. A missed receiving window can leave a completed unit waiting while the next unit needs the same production resources. At the receiving end, available towing and installation resources need a prepared location and a workable sea window. The owner and construction team should link those commitments through a dated placement schedule showing the unit, its intended position, the foundation release and the marine-operation window.

The practical buffer is a queue of locations ready to receive units. IMWO proposes reporting that queue alongside units ready for float-out. Each location record should identify the supporting survey, inspection release, remaining correction and planned handover date. The team can then choose whether to advance foundation work, change the fabrication sequence or adjust the tow date before paying for waiting resources. Holding more ready units also consumes space and capital, so the buffer needs an explicit cost and storage limit.

Phase B creates a second call on the marine programme

The region reported the start of Phase B offshore work on 30 May. Initial columns of 3, 6, 9 and 12 metres were being used to calibrate the consolidation method; forty columns by 1 June remained the announcement's forecast. Running the two phases concurrently was intended to shorten the overall sequence. ^[3]

For the delivery programme, that creates a resource-allocation question: which foundation locations, survey tasks and marine windows serve each phase, and which resources can actually move between them? An owner programme should identify the shared equipment and access constraints before committing the same availability to both work fronts. Where a resource is shared, the schedule needs a transfer date and an alternative sequence if the first front retains it longer.

Put the authorised funding years beside the work programme

Italy's Law 71 of 8 May 2026 converted Decree-Law 32/2026. The published Article 9(5-quinquies) authorised additional Phase A expenditure of EUR63 million in 2027 and EUR100 million in 2028 for seabed consolidation and activities in the project variation. The provision totals EUR163 million, with 61.3% assigned to 2028. ^[4]

Those are authorised expenditure years. A cash programme also needs the expected certification and payment dates for the corresponding works. For a construction period spanning two budget years, the owner's monthly forecast should reconcile work performed, certificates due, payment obligations and available cash by phase. This exposes the period in which construction commitments may run ahead of funding receipts, while keeping the budget authority and the payment account separately visible.

The regional July release expected the last caisson placement by summer 2027. The owner can test the payment forecast against that production target by identifying which subsequent operations and certified accounts would fall into the following budget year. ^[2]

IMWO original editorial graphic

Make the next operational release explicit

The owner's feasibility description gives the functional sequence: a new eastern access channel 300m wide and an 800m turning area, followed by the further navigable space along the Sampierdarena channel under Phase B. Those are the stated design functions of the two phases. The parallel construction programme needs a dated operating sequence showing which entrance and manoeuvring areas will be available together. ^[5]

For each proposed opening, the owner should identify the breakwater sections, receiving basin, channel works and navigation arrangements covered by the operational release. The production schedule and cash forecast can then be tested against that scope. A completion team can prioritise the remaining operations that bring the first usable route into service, while the other work fronts keep their own quantities, funding years and handover dates.