RAM is the implementing body of the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport (MIT) responsible for promoting the Motorways of the Sea program at a national level, by supporting and coordinating all the actions needed to execute the Mediterranean Master Plan for the integrated transport system. In particular, RAM S.p.a. has faced the topic of lack of maritime infrastructure and the implementation plans needed in Italy. This scenario frames the elaboration of the national Master Plan for Motorways of the Sea, the Master Plan for the South and the Regional Master Plan.

The national Master Plan aims at:

• identifying the most appealing traffic flows for the industry
• enhancing the ports subjects to these flows
• finding the niches in the marketplace to implement their potentials with new routes
• identifying the user needs in the existing routes

Having carefully monitored our Country sea routes, typologies of vehicles transported and load factors, the national Master Plan has highlighted the critical points determining the growth and evolution of the demand, and pointed out the priority and most effective countermeasures. As for the infrastructure network, in particular, the bottlenecks that reduce the ports accessibility and therefore slow down the sea transport services, have also been identified.

RAM S.p.a. is carrying out the national Master Plan also by promoting specific local agreements with the Regions and, where needed, with the single port authorities and the private entities involved.