“The PIER” (Port Innovation, Engagement, and Research) officially opened on 25 November 2021. Located in one of the port’s historic districts, it is a collaborative landing space for large and small businesses, universities and the research community designed to tackle supply chain and logistics challenges. The Port of Halifax is a founder member and Allan Gray, the Port’s Chairman and CEO, presented the project at our AIVP Days event in Brussels, which included a session devoted to innovation ecosystems in port cities.

The new cruise terminal at Port Louis will be capable of accommodating ships carrying over 4,000 passengers. Architects Bermello, Ajamil et Partners designed the building as a key element of “Les Salines”, a waterfront district that is currently in the process of redevelopment. It will be used to stage events, and will be linked by a new promenade to the new installations being created in the city centre and historic quarters. The terminal is due to open during the second half of 2022.

Certain sectors of the blue economy, such as the cruise industry, often work in isolation without generating large numbers of local jobs. Opening up cooperation with local stakeholders is a way of ensuring that revenue generates firmly established employment that cannot be moved offshore, in shops and services. The Marseille Chamber of Commerce (France) is joining forces with Costa Cruises to guarantee at least 40 additional jobs in the sector. The Bouches du Rhône Département has signed up to a similar initiative, highlighting “new green industries” and presenting around a hundred potential careers to young people. The “Blue Growth” plan adopted by the port of Vigo (Spain) is another good example, with a major emphasis on vocational training, with 2,152 people having already benefited so far. The port has enlisted the local university, the municipality and the Regional Government of Galicia as its partners in this blue growth project.