SITE VISIT OBJECTIVES
To offer an example of how a very important and strategic industrial area is being redeveloped in order to take into account sustainable development.

INSTITUTION/COMPANY PROFILE
Built in 1951, the petrochemical plant at Porto Marghera occupies a strategic position: at the edge of Venice’s laguna, overlooking the sea.
Porto Marghera industrial site is located 5 km NW the historical center of Venice, between the urban inland (Mestre, Marghera and Malcontenta) and the coastal lagoon.
It spans on an area of 2000 hectares: 1400 ha for industries, 340 ha of water channels; 120 ha for the commercial harbour; 80 ha for roads and railways; 40 ha for State lands
Over time it has become an important reference point not only for local companies, but also, on a larger scale, for the Northern Italian chemical industry as a whole.
The petrochemical industry is currently linked to others sites in the north of Italy and upon which 70% of the Italian chemical industry depends.
The main activities are: coke-derived products, refineries, aluminium and semi-finished material production, shipyards, chemistry, fertilizer production.
The petrochemical industry is marked mainly for its chlorine chemistry, which arose quite a bit of controversy due to its effects on the environment.