The Public Prosecution Office closes the file on the complaint by the GOB in relation to the expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma
Palma
25/10/2017
The Public Prosecution Office of the Balearic Islands has closed the file on the complaint by the Balearic Group of Ornithology (GOB) against the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) with regards to the dumping of building waste from the works on the Poniente (Western) Dock of the Port of Palma, as it considers that the facts reported do not constitute a criminal offence.
The public prosecutor ruled that it had not been possible to state that as a result of "the use of eco-aggregate in the esplanade expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma, negative effects have been noticed regarding the quality of the water".
The GOB filed the complaint against the APB last summer for dumping building waste from the expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma and requested that the Public Prosecution Office investigate the matter due to a potential environmental impact.
The State Legal Service issued a report on 27 July in which it clearly stated that the APB had correctly processed this project, which is regulated by state-level legislation. Furthermore, it upheld that these works should not be subject to an environmental impact assessment, as this is not envisaged under the Environmental Assessment Act.
The APB upheld that the environmental procedures followed were correct, the analyses show that eco-aggregate is not hazardous waste and that it cannot be stated that the use of this material in the esplanade expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma has led to negative effects on the quality of the water.
Therefore, the Public Prosecution Office concludes by ruling in favour of the APB and proceeds to close the file on the proceedings as it considers that the facts do not constitute a criminal offence.
Service improvement
The mooring areas at the Poniente and Pelaires docks at the Port of Palma share cruise ship and ferry traffic and, therefore, it has become evident that the increase in traffic requires more land operational surface area than that currently available, especially given situations where regular cruise ships and ferries arrive at the same time.
The need to design the esplanade expansion works on the Poniente Norte Dock of the Port of Palma arose in order to improve the effectiveness and service levels for cruise ships and ferries.
The proposed solution led to the works getting underway in February 2017 to create a new esplanade surface area measuring 36,232 m2, awarded to the joint venture comprising FCC Construcción and Amer e Hijos for 21 million euros and with a completion term of 34 months.
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