A year following their launch, Italy’s eight special economic zones (SEZ) are poised to open new avenues for growth and investment in the country’s southern regions as they prepare to converge into a unified project starting in 2024.
The SEZ program has been likened to a “New Deal” for Italy’s south. Its primary objectives revolve around attracting both domestic and foreign investments, fostering regional productivity, igniting economic development, and further integrating Italy’s southern regions into global trade routes.
The Roman Colosseum, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, is among the most visited tourist spots in Italy and it could become the magnet that brings tourists into the country to then visit all these other regions.
Last year, these eight zones introduced their digital “one-stop-shops,” streamlining the cumbersome process of obtaining over 30 authorizations typically needed to initiate new industrial projects. This reduction in Italy’s well-known bureaucratic red tape is the first of two advantages available to all SEZ investors. The second benefit involves tax credits, ranging from 20% for small firms to 10% for larger ones, with a maximum cap of €100 million (over $105 million) for each project.
Among these zones, the Ionic interregional SEZ, spanning the southern regions of Puglia and Basilicata, has emerged as one of the most promising. It has concentrated its efforts on vital logistics hubs, specifically the Taranto port and the Grottaglie airport.
Over the past six months, the Ionic SEZ has received proposals for 22 projects amounting to over €40 million, with the potential to create 250 new jobs. An additional 40 projects are in advanced stages, with the prospect of generating 2,000 jobs, particularly in the fields of logistics, automotive, construction, and agri-food.
In July, European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto secured EU approval to unify the eight zones into a single SEZ encompassing all of Italy’s “Mezzogiorno,” the southern region. According to Fitto, this consolidation will prevent delays and fragmentation, allowing the regions to fully leverage the financial opportunities presented by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which is linked to the Next Generation EU, a post-pandemic initiative.
Commissioner Floriana Gallucci, who oversaw the project for the government, highlighted the significance of this consolidated SEZ: “The single SEZ is a tremendous opportunity for a relaunch of the South as the link between Northern Europe and the enlarged Mediterranean.”
At the heart of the SEZ project is the Port of Taranto, strategically positioned to become a logistical and intermodal hub serving the Asian, EU, and US markets, along with the Mediterranean and North Africa.
“Ports guarantee all the necessary services to the companies that choose to be based here to start their import-export activities, becoming key to ensure that foreign investments in logistics are effective,” said Sergio Prete, head of the Ionian Sea Port System Authority.