The kick off meeting of GreenMedPorts project has taken place in Oran on December 3rd in the presence of the Lead Partner, North Tyrrhennian Sea Port Network Authority, hosted by the Algerian partner, the Laboratory of Marine and Engineering Science, and with presence of all other partners. Given that several GREENMEDPORTS activities are already underway, the meeting focused on important topics such as ongoing activities, financial progress, and next steps. Key discussion points included the first amendments to the contract, the establishment process for Local Green Port Hubs, and the setup of pilot activities. The meeting has been introduced by three representatives from the Interreg NEXT-MED Programme.

The meeting took place in the framework of the first International Conference on Energy Transition and Digitalisation in the Maritime Sector that began the day before. This event aimed to explore the crucial challenges and opportunities related to the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, the integration of renewable energies and digital transformation (digitalisation) in the context of the global energy transition. On December 2nd, a joint workshop with the SHARE4MED project (also a NEXT MED project with Algerian partner) was held, presenting the objectives of the two projects and the synergies that could be developed over the three-year duration of the two projects.

The overall objective of the project is to develop a joint initiative aimed at improving the energy efficiency, reducing the carbon footprint and improving the environmental sustainability of maritime transport, seaport activities and blue economy related industries in the Mediterranean. The following day the project partners had the opportunity to visit the port of Oran during which the expansion plans and development opportunities created thanks to the project were illustrated.