Industrial redevelopment in Porto Torres: after 40 years, the former Cementir plant is being demolished.

The process of decommissioning old factories, left behind by the former Porto Torres petrochemical plant , is entering full swing. This process, planned by the Sassari Provincial Industrial Consortium for several years now, involves the redevelopment of vast infrastructure areas, initiated by former president Valerio Scanu and continued under the current leadership of CIPSS, Simona Fois. The former Cementir building, located in the industrial area, will be demolished within the year. The tender process for the demolition of the dilapidated facility on Via Vespucci is currently in the preliminary phase, allowing bidding companies to complete the required documentation before the next phases of the process.

From the awarding of the contract, expected in the coming weeks, a maximum of 180 days will pass for the demolition of the structure, abandoned for over forty years. A characterization plan will then be prepared, necessary to assess the environmental status of the area and identify any remediation interventions. The history of the former Cementir plant in Porto Torres began in the late 1950s , when the Alba Cementi plant was built on the approximately 42,000 square meter seafront site. The business, later acquired by Cementir, definitively closed its doors in 1983 with the abandonment of the plant. After decades of inactivity and unsuccessful auctions, in 2020 the area was acquired by the CIPSS (Italian Cement and Petrochemical Industry Association) with the aim of revitalizing a strategic area of the former petrochemical hub, reconverting it to the blue economy.

The Consortium intends that once the dilapidated structures are decommissioned and the affected area is reclaimed, the site will be redeveloped and used for promising new production activities, given its location on the port waterfront. At the same time, the process for planning the decommissioning projects continues, which include the dismantling, demolition, and securing of the structures on the remaining ten hectares. The tender process concluded on March 9th, and four mandatory site inspections were conducted, necessary to allow interested companies to firsthand familiarize themselves with the site's technical characteristics and the planned works before submitting their bids.