In 1981 a consortium of private operators signed a framework agreement with the Regional Council of Liguria, the Municipal Council of Genoa and the Independent Port Consortium to set up a business district as part of the project to upgrade the port area. The agreement led to the drafting of a detailed plan for the construction of modern infrastructure on ten hectares of land: a new station, improvements to the road system, underpasses, car parks and, above all, buildings, including the World Trade Centre, a 24-storey office block with a reinforced concrete core built by means of sliding forms iron-concrete slabs.