This year the ESPO Award on Societal Integration of Ports went to the Port of Helsinki for its project ‘Port as Part of the City’. Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas handed out the Award to Heikki Nissinen, Managing Director of the Port of Helsinki.
The ceremony was held in the Town Hall of Brussels in the presence of Hamza Fassi-Fihri, Deputy Mayor of the City of Brussels, and Brigitte Grouwels, Minister for Transport and the Port of the Brussels-Capital Region.
Maritime Identity
‘We especially valued the Port of Helsinki’s determination to maintain port activities in the city centre, thus sustaining the maritime identity of the city of Helsinki,’ said Jury Chairman John B Richardson, ‘We were also impressed by the port’s continuous interactive dialogue with local community stakeholders to achieve this goal and the port authority’s investments in shore-side electricity, waste reception facilities and other ways to reduce externalities. In this way port activities can integrate sustainably within the urban environment.’
Shortlisted Ports
The other shortlisted ports were Amsterdam, Antwerp, Koper, Marseilles and Ponta Delgada. A brochure describing all the projects that participated in this year’s competition is available from https://www.espo.be/Events_and_Projects/ESPO_Award_on_Societal_Integration_of_Ports.aspx[the ESPO website].
About the ESPO Award
The ESPO Award was established in 2009 to promote innovative projects of European port authorities that improve societal integration of ports, especially with the city or wider community in which they are located. In this way, the Award wants to stimulate the sustainable development of European ports and their cities. As of next year, the ESPO Award will be thematic. The overall theme will remain ‘societal integration of ports,’ but a specific sub-theme will be announced each year.
Photo: Luc Peeters
