Fisia (Webuild Group): DG Buzzetti at Ambrosetti’s Water Value Forum — investing in smart water infrastructure to support the energy transition
Genoa, 19 March 2026 – Investing in “blue gold” to unlock the economic potential of local areas and attract new industrial capital, in support of the energy transition. At the Water Value Forum organized by The European House – Ambrosetti, Fisia Italimpianti (Webuild Group) highlights how water management is no longer just an environmental issue, but a fundamental pillar of Italy’s industrial future and of the country’s competitiveness.
“Today, water resources represent the most reliable indicator of a nation’s systemic quality. The future inevitably requires a paradigm shift: transforming water networks into smart infrastructures capable of integrating sustainability and technological innovation to support the ongoing ecological transition,” emphasized Fisia’s General Manager, Matteo Buzzetti, speaking at the panel ‘Water positive: a challenge for territorial competitiveness’.
Buzzetti, who is also a member of the IDRA Board, pointed out that this wealth of expertise is developed entirely in-house, a distinctive feature in the global industry landscape: “We leverage know-how that stems from decades of advanced engineering, combined with the capability to manage complex worksites in challenging contexts. It is an Italian asset that we have been bringing around the world for years, also thanks to our integration with the Webuild Group.”
Among Fisia Italimpianti’s most recent projects – as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary this year – is the remediation of the Riachuelo River in Buenos Aires, Argentina, carried out with Webuild and partly financed by the World Bank due to its strong social impact. The initiative, one of the largest river cleanup projects in the world, has provided over 4 million people with access to a functioning sewer system and restored a heavily polluted area. In Italy, ongoing works include the expansion and management of the wastewater treatment plant serving the city of Vicenza.
Another key area for Fisia Italimpianti is desalination, a sector in which the company is recognized as a global leader. The plants built – particularly in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar – supply drinking water to roughly 20 million people. In this sector, Buzzetti outlined the company’s technological trajectory, which is now focused on more compact, modular systems with reduced energy consumption. This direction also reflects Italy’s current situation: according to analyses by the Water Value Observatory, the country ranks among the most exposed to water stress in Europe, with significant impacts on agriculture, manufacturing, and the availability of drinking water in urban areas.
Buzzetti also noted that “large desalination plants can become allies of the power grid, absorbing peaks in renewable energy production.” This model transforms desalination facilities into flexibility tools for the electricity system, while simultaneously contributing to energy resilience and water security. This vision becomes even more relevant considering that the water sector, according to the Ambrosetti Observatory, generates value equivalent to 20% of Italy’s GDP, making it an essential competitive asset in the ecological transition.