Concrete giant placed in position near Genoa port: 33 metres high, 67 metres long, and 30 metres wide

GENOA, Italy, November 5, 2025 – The first of 35 mega caissons for Genoa’s New Breakwater was installed offshore near the city’s port. This massive concrete structure stands 33 metres tall – equivalent to an 11-story building – 67 metres long and 30 metres wide. It is part of a redesigning of the coastal profile of Genoa. Built by the PerGenova Breakwater consortium led by Webuild on behalf of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, the caisson was placed 50 metres below sea level – an unprecedented depth for an offshore breakwater in Europe. 

An innovative technique was used to build this caisson: on a semi-submersible barge called Tronds Barge 33 with a pump-controlled immersion system that allows it to go under water and resurface like a steel whale. 

The caisson was manufactured in the Vado Ligure basin, a production hub where engineering and innovation converge. It is there where the construction of mega caissons proceeds in parallel with that of the standard caissons. 

Progress is also being made on seabed remediation and consolidation activities, with over 2.3 million tons of gravel already poured and approximately 49,000 submerged columns built – totaling nearly 560,000 linear metres, well over half the total length planned for the project. 

Once completed, Genoa’s new offshore breakwater will stretch for 6.2 kilometres, according to its final configuration. It will become the new face of the port, capable of accommodating next-generation vessels of up to 400 metres in length and protecting the city from storm surges. Together with the Terzo Valico di Giovi–Genoa Junction Project, also being built by Webuild, it will strengthen Genoa’s role in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEBN-T), reshaping trade routes across Europe and the Mediterranean.