An Italian company has been awarded a €12 million contract to create a "shore-to-ship" power supply system for the Valletta cruise port.

The deal, signed by Italy’s Nidec ASI and Maltese company Excel Sis, will allow cruise ships moored at the port to draw the power they from Malta's energy grid, without having to keep their polluting on-board diesel engines running.

Nidec announced its deal in a statement on Tuesday. 

The Italian company said that the system would cut emissions of pollutant gases by over 40 tons a year -  the equivalent of continuous circulation of over 4 million vehicles - and also reduce noise pollution as ship engines would be switched off while moored.

Nidec ASI was awarded the supply of power and high-tech systems and all related engineering, including transformers, converters and the cable management system. 

The project will be coordinated by Infrastructure Malta.

European ports have been given until 2025 by the EU to implement berth electrification systems to reduce polluting emissions of vessels in ports. 

In its statement, Nidec ASI said it and its main contractor Excel Sis had received the highest technical and economic rating in the call for bids for the project.

Nidec ASI is currently completing the electrification of the berths in Genoa’s Port of Prà, after also having installed its systems in the ports of Leghorn, the Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyards, EDISON–Navalimpianti - FSO Alba Marina and a number of other ports.