Social and environmental investments in Italy
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline supports a range of tailored social and environmental investment projects in Italy.
TAP maintains ongoing dialogue with local communities to develop new, mutually-agreed Social and Environmental Investment (SEI) projects that support the communities’ development priorities.
Priority investment areas include:
- Livelihoods: with a particular focus on tourism, agriculture and fisheries.
- Environmental management: agriculture and the marine environment.
- Community quality of life: services and infrastructure.
Notable projects in Italy
A number of projects contributing to social and environmental causes have been implemented in Italy through TAP’s SEI programme, including:
- benefitting the local fishermen through the 'On the same boat' project which made fishing in San Foca safer and more sustainable
- funding 35 scholarships for Master's Degree in Hospitality Management qualifications
- the TAP Start programme, which offers small grants to non-profit organisations implementing projects in the areas of sports, culture, environment and social issues
- the MENA programme to train restaurant owners and managers in restaurant management, cooking techniques and the transformation of local food products
- a Marine Litter programme to assess the presence of marine litter on an approximately 30 kilometre stretch of the Adriatic coastline (Vernole, Lecce and Melendugno)
- TAP provided funding to the National Superintendence for Underwater Cultural Heritage for the restoration of ceramic artefacts of significant archaeological interest, discovered during the offshore installation of the pipeline on the seabed of the Otranto Channel. TAP’s support also enabled the Superintendence to exhibit the restored artefacts in Taranto for 18 months
- TAP donated musical instruments to the music programme of Melendugno Middle School
- Since 2024, TAP has supported Blu Festival, the summer programme of cultural and leisure events organised by the Municipality of Melendugno.
On the same boat, supporting the fishermen of San Foca
In the summer of 2020, TAP launched the “On the same boat” project, to support the fishing community in Melendugno. This initiative was designed in collaboration with the fishermen of San Foca.
TAP recovers 2,600-year-old Offshore Artefacts
Using remotely operated equipment, TAP specialised teams have safely recovered 22 objects of extraordinary archaeological importance from almost 800 meters below sea level, in the Otranto canal of the Adriatic Sea, near the pipeline’s offshore route.
