News APB | Ports de Balears

The APB puts out a tender to manage the moorings in the El Molinar dock at the Port of Palma

30/06/2020

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed this afternoon to put out to tender the management of the El Molinar dock and port facilities' building at the Port of Palma, for a maximum term of twenty years and once the redevelopment work has been completed by the port authority. The Board of Directors has approved the tender conditions that will enable the use of the port space to provide mooring services for pleasure boats up to eight metres long. In addition, they include the use of the ground floor of the building as a bar-café-restaurant, though impeding any business to be conducted on the first floor, which will be reserved for offices and space for social and cultural activities promoted by the new operator. The tender excludes an area of about 2,500 square metres, which includes a newly built 600 m2 building, plus an esplanade and slipway, which will be assigned to the Government of the Balearic Islands for the future location of a water sports training centre. The APB has taken on the work of redeveloping and modernising the dock to provide it with the necessary safety measures for inland navigation and boat mooring. In addition, in 2020 it will be tendering the refurbishment works on the building, which will retain its original appearance. These two projects have an overall budget of almost €4 million. The Board of Directors has decided that, given that the concessionaire will not have to undertake any investment beyond the fitting out of the building and the installation of pontoons in the sheltered waters, there is justification for the concession not exceeding a maximum period of twenty years, which is long enough to amortize these projects. In addition, the tender conditions guarantee the use of public port land to provide mooring services for around 90 small pleasure boats, limiting trading activities to a bar-café-restaurant. Port-city integration The APB estimates that work on the stretch of the El Molinar promenade will be completed by the end of July and opened to the public, while it has assumed that the completion of the construction work on the new Poniente breakwater will be delayed until October. In 2020, it plans to tender the refurbishment of the building, with work possibly beginning next year. The APB thus complies with the commitments to maintain the size of El Molinar, the number of moorings and types of boats it can accommodate, port-city integration, a stronger sporting focus and the fact that the management of the moorings can be taken on by a social yacht club.

The City Council and the Port Authority agree to permanently increase the space available to pedestrians and cyclists on the seafront promenade

21/06/2020

Palma City Council and the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands have agreed to definitively remove one lane of traffic on the seafront side of the promenade between the Paraires Quay and Calle Monsenyor Palmer, in order to increase the amount of space available to the general public. The upgrading work will begin on 29th June. This initiative, which dovetails with the project to redesign the seafront promenade that has recently been announced, will transform this area adding a large new cycle lane that will run from the Paraires Quay to Calle Monsenyor Palmer. Furthermore, the project will add 650 linear metres to the existing cycle lane which instead of ending at Calle Pedrera, will now run all the way to the Paraires Quay. The project will move the current parking spaces to the lane of traffic closest to the sea. The space left free as a result will be separated off from vehicle traffic and will be used for the cycle lane. This will increase the amount of space available on the pavement for people to walk along the waterfront in Palma. This initiative has been approved this week in conjunction with the Port Authority. The City Council, for its part, and given that the state of alarm ends today, has ruled to put an end to the intermittent road closures that have been made during the process of de-escalation as of tomorrow. These closures began to be made from 15th June at 17.30 until 21.30 from Monday to Saturday and between 9.30 and 21.30 on Sundays on the promenade between the Porto Pí roundabout and Calle Manuel Azaña and on the Son Puig road between Camino Son Rapinya and Camino La Vileta.

The APB informs outdoor cafés, bars and restaurants on the Palma seafront promenade that they must close at one o'clock in the morning

18/06/2020

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has sent the holders of the outdoor café and bar permits on Palma's seafront promenade a notification informing them that they must close their establishments at one o'clock in the morning. These closing times are the same as those applied by the City Council from 1st April to 30th October, on an exceptional basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The APB has detected that around the Avenida Gabriel Roca area in the Port of Palma, the practice of keeping these outdoor areas open until the early hours of the morning has become widespread. This has escalated since these establishments were allowed to extend the size of their outdoor seating areas to include one of the former lanes of traffic, which was proposed as a way of supporting the economic revival of bars, cafés and restaurants and of facilitating social distancing to offset the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, numerous complaints have been received from residents who have reported loud noise in the early hours of the morning, thus disturbing their sleep as a result. In the letter, the establishments that have taken advantage of the initiative to extend their outdoor seating areas have been informed that the APB must enforce the Palma City Council's Municipal Bylaw on the Occupancy of Public Highways, which is regulated in the Port's Special Plan. After the notification, the Port Police, in conjunction with the Palma Local Police, will be stepping up controls on closing times in this area.

Cruise passengers consume 90 litres of water per year in the Port of Palma

12/06/2020

According to data gathered by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) on cruise ship water consumption in the public ports it manages on the islands, a cruise passenger calling at the Port of Palma uses an average of 90.49 litres of water a year. According to the water supply figures for this type of ship, in 2019, 200,895 tonnes of water were delivered to cruise ships in the Port of Palma for a total of 2,220,135 passengers visiting its facilities. The average water consumption per cruise passenger has varied in recent years. For example, in 2016, the year in which the Port of Palma supplied 178,068 tonnes of water to cruise ships for 1,631,206 cruise passengers, the average was 109.16 litres per passenger. In 2017, the annual average dropped to 90.03 litres per cruise passenger, with 150,632 tonnes for 1,673,210 passengers, whilst in 2018, the average reached its lowest point with 79.55 litres per passenger per year, with 163,226 tonnes of water being supplied to 2,051,782 visitors. Other ports The average water consumption per cruise passenger is lower in the other APB ports that cruise ships call at. Thus, in the Port of Ibiza, the annual average in 2019 was 64 litres per cruise passenger, with 25,526 tonnes of water being delivered to a total of 399,130 passengers. In Mahon, it was 0.3 litres per cruise passenger per year, as only 14 tonnes were supplied to 43,757 cruise passengers. In Alcudia, there was one cruise ship in 2019 that did not request water. In 2018, 56 tonnes of water were delivered for 2,139 passengers calling at the port, making an annual average of 26 litres of water per cruise passenger. These figures only take into account consumption by passengers, disregarding any water used by crew members, who sometimes exceed 25% of the people on board this type of ship.

The Ibiza Town Council, the Port Authority and Marina Ibiza agree to integrate the marina into the city and to extend the promenade

12/06/2020

The Mayor of Ibiza, Rafa Ruiz, the Chairman of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), Joan Gual de Torrella, and representatives of Marina Ibiza have agreed to continue with the project to remove the fencing separating the port from the town of Ibiza, and to extend the promenade so it runs from the beacon on the breakwater in the Port of Ibiza to the Botafoc lighthouse, eliminating the visual barriers separating the sea from the city. The meeting was attended by the Mayor of Ibiza, the APB Chairman, the Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Urban Development, Elena López, the APB Public Port Land Director, Armando Parada, the APB representative for the ports of Ibiza and La Savina, and Marcos Marino and Rafael Cardona on behalf of Marina Ibiza. The Mayor of Ibiza, Rafa Ruiz, highlighted that the agreement is the result of a joint effort between the two authorities - the Town Council and the APB - and Marina Ibiza, to develop a global vision of the port, and make it accessible to the public. "A few years ago, we started the transformation of the port, with the support of the APB, so that the citizens could walk from one lighthouse to the other and enable the town to look out to sea". Meanwhile, the APB Chairman, Joan Gual de Torrella, said that "today's agreement is another step forward in handing the waterfront over to the general public. In other words, in addition to the removal of the fence at the Formentera terminal, this measure is now being taken at the Marina. They are all steps forward, one after another, which will mean that over the next four years, the port will be fully accessible to the public. In this last phase of removing fencing, the facilities of Marina Ibiza will be integrated into the town of Ibiza, connecting the waterfront and the current Paseo de Juan Carlos I promenade. The measures include opening eight new access points for pedestrians, improving access to the marina for the general public making one of the landscaped areas smaller connecting the access points to the existing paving in the landscaped area, thereby extending the promenade installing new urban furniture, such as litter bins and wooden benches and installing bollards with lights so pedestrians are safeguarded from vehicles. The project to develop this part of the port has a budget of €347,000 plus VAT, which will be paid for by Marina Ibiza, and has been supervised by experts from the Ibiza Town Council's Urban Planning and Public Roads Department. Work will begin in September. The work will start at the beginning of the Paseo Juan Carlos I promenade and end at the Marina Ibiza facilities, which means the elimination of more than 500 linear metres of fencing which separate the town from the port. With this project, the barriers separating the town and the port continue to be eliminated, and the work begun jointly by the Town Council and the APB continues so that the port becomes part of the town and a recreational area for the public.

The Balearic Islands Government, the Formentera Island Council and the APB announce a reduction in port calls at the Port of La Savina for environmental, safety and service optimisation reasons

10/06/2020

The Regional Minister for Mobility and Housing, Marc Pons, the President of the Formentera Island Council, Alejandra Ferrer, and the Chairman of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), Joan Gual de Torrella, today presented a study on ferry operations in the Port of La Savina, drawn up by the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The presentation discussed the proposals that have emerged from this study to improve these operations from a safety and environmental viewpoint and in terms of enhancing and optimising the service, based on more efficient use of the ferries operating out of the Formentera port. During the morning, the study was presented to the shipping companies operating in the port and the proposal to reduce port calls by 30% was made public. These proposals centre on changing departure times from every 30 minutes to every 60 minutes. The current maximum of 97 daily calls that are registered in summer (August) would now be reduced to 68. Likewise, a proposal was made to reach a consensus on allocating ferry frequencies with the shipping companies that run the service. The aim is to reach an agreement with the ferry companies within a week or 10 days on the criteria for allocating frequencies. In principle, slots will be assigned on the basis of the service history of each company. The APB will subsequently approve the new port operating regulations so that they can be implemented this season once the de-escalation process has been completed and the port has entered the phase of new normality. Both the Regional Minister, Marc Pons, and the President, Alejandra Ferrer, pointed out that last November, when it was agreed to schedule the times of the first and last boats between Ibiza and Formentera, the need to move towards greater sustainability in port mobility was raised, with measures to reduce frequencies, which are considered excessive given the number of jobs they generate, in order to reduce pollution and the risks associated with manoeuvrability in the port. In this regard, the Minister recalled that under normal conditions (now suspended by the current state of alarm) there can be up to 97 daily calls in the high season in August, with an average occupancy rate of less than 31% in August and less than 23% during the rest of the year. Accordingly, the Minister also argued that the reduction in the number of ferries means a decrease in costs because overheads are lower, thus improving profitability. In addition, having fewer ships in the port improves environmental conditions by reducing contaminating CO2 emissions, brings safer manoeuvrability, and improves ferry occupancy.

The APB and the Mahon City Council extend the areas for pedestrians and outdoor cafés and restaurants at the Port of Mahon

08/06/2020

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) and the Mahon City Council have set aside 5,000 square metres on the Levante and Poniente quay road at the Port of Mahon for pedestrians and outdoor cafés and restaurants. The aim is to extend the space available for pedestrians to enjoy a stroll, as well as to revitalise business at the cafés and restaurants at the Port of Mahon. This morning, the APB Chairman, Joan Gual de Torrella, and the Mayor of Mahon, Héctor Pons, presented the details of this project, which will be implemented from today onwards in the stretch between Costa de Corea and Costa de Ses Voltes (Rochina). The road will become one-way from east to west in this area. The removal of one lane will provide extra space for outdoor cafés and restaurants, as well as for pedestrians. Sustainable traffic The APB is taking this measure, in agreement with the Town Council, within the framework of the Mahon Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, approved in December 2019. This Plan envisages a series of changes in road directions in order to divert traffic away from the most congested areas in the city and move towards more rational and sustainable mobility. Despite the one-way traffic limitation, the number of car parking spaces at the port is being maintained, with 15 spaces being moved to the Costa de Corea. In addition, 80 new parking spaces for motorcycles and bicycles are being created, and vehicles will still be able to park at the cruise ship passenger terminal, which has space for up to 200 vehicles. Ports and COVID-19 During the state of alarm and with the beginning of the different phases of the transition to the new normality, it has become clear that the ports managed by the APB are a point of reference for the cities' residents. This fact has been demonstrated by the large numbers of people who have used the port areas during this period and who continue to use them to do sport, go for a walk or sit at the outdoor cafés and restaurants located in these areas. The APB has also launched similar initiatives, such as the one unveiled today in the Port of Mahon, in the ports of Ibiza and Palma, in coordination with their local councils.

Palma City Council and the APB sign a joint agreement to redevelop the seafront promenade

29/05/2020

The Palma City Council and the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) have signed a joint agreement to redevelop the Palma seafront promenade. The agreement sets out the commitments that need to be complied with by both parties and states that the APB will be in charge of the works to redevelop the promenade, whilst the Palma City Council will be in charge of its upkeep. The plenary session of the City Council yesterday gave the go-ahead to the agreement, which had already been approved by the APB's Board of Directors. The next step is to transfer it to the Spanish Ministry of Finance for ratification. It will come into force once it is published in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE). The agreement was presented by the Mayor of Palma, José Hila the APB Chairman, Joan Gual de Torrella the Councillor for Urban Development, Housing and Sustainability, Neus Truyol, and the Councillor for Infrastructure and Accessibility, Angélica Pastor. According to the Mayor, "it is a very ambitious redevelopment project which will transform the seafront of Palma, breaking down the existing barriers and bringing the city of Palma closer to the sea". He continued by stating that, "it is a clear example of the Palma that we want to see: more sustainable, greener, closer to the sea and with citizens playing a central role. The redevelopment will also reactivate trade in the area and generate employment, which are also fundamental issues". The APB Chairman sees this project as a contribution made by the port to the city, which, "beyond the economic aspect, strengthens its commitment to port-city integration in which citizens take the leading role, regardless of which government agency builds the stage". Commitments Once the agreement comes into force, the City Council will be in charge of the maintenance, conservation and management of the area owned by the APB, which will involve a yearly cost initially estimated at €1,046,006.84. By performing these tasks, the Council will offset the payment of €1,199,086.61corresponding to work carried out on municipal land and €3,180,626.68 corresponding to work requested by the City Council to improve municipally-owned facilities. It will also be responsible for any expenses that are generated such as water and energy consumption (lighting), urban furniture and surveillance services, during the term of the agreement. The Council also undertakes to speed up the granting of the licences, authorisations and permits required to carry out the work. It also pledges to guarantee access to the port facilities and the flow of port road traffic, though this will be exceptional and limited. In turn, the APB undertakes to carry out and pay for the improvement and redevelopment of the promenade. It will also be in charge of handling and managing any occupancy of port land, generally for outdoor cafés and restaurants. It will also pay the City Council annually for the maintenance and conservation of its property, with the aim of achieving a sustainable balance in terms of the economic benefits obtained by both parties. This payment will be made once the works carried out on municipal land and those requested by the Council have been completed. The current agreement replaces the previous arrangement and adds the redevelopment and improvement project. A Monitoring Committee will be set up to coordinate the development of the text and will be made up of three members from each body. The agreement will have a duration of four years from its publication in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE) and may be extended and renewed under the terms established by law. Project The JAMLET-TYPSA joint venture is currently drafting the construction project for the works and the APB hopes to tender the work in 2020. The promenade redevelopment project involves working on a surface area of 169,010 square metres. The estimated budget is €32,495,572.26.

The Port of Palma sets aside one lane of the seafront promenade for pedestrians and outdoor cafés and restaurants

22/05/2020

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has decided to set aside one lane of the seafront promenade in the Port of Palma for pedestrians and outdoor cafés and restaurants, with the dual purpose of supporting the economic recovery of the hospitality industry and also facilitating social distancing, which is one of the measures adopted by the Spanish Government to alleviate the negative effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Monday 25th May, the right-hand lane of the seafront promenade going out of the city, between Calle Monseñor Palmer and Portopí, will be closed to traffic. The extra space gained by closing this lane will be used to give more space to outdoor cafés and restaurants and widen pavements, while vehicle traffic will still have two lanes available. The operation will be carried out in three stages. The first section, between calle Monseñor Palmer and S'Aigua Dolça, will separate road traffic from the outdoor cafés and restaurants with concrete New Jersey barriers, in order to protect the physical safety of the customers sitting at these establishments. On the second section, between S'Aigua Dolça and Ca'n Barbarà, the space used for parking cars will be moved by one lane. Finally, the right-hand lane of the last section, between Ca'n Barbarà and the Paraires tower, will be used for vehicles to park one behind another, freeing up all the space currently used for parking perpendicular to the kerb. The work to add the traffic lane closest to the pavement to increase the pedestrian area will be completed in two weeks. In addition to the safety barriers, plastic bollards will be installed and road signs will be changed to mark the new area. Confluence of interests The APB has recently received requests from business associations and from restaurants and companies offering night-time entertainment to extend the outdoor areas they use in the APB areas on the Port of Palma's promenade. These requests are aimed at compensating the reduction in outdoor seating capacity imposed to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. On the other hand, closing this lane to traffic is in line with the project that the APB plans to carry out in the next few months to redesign Palma's seafront promenade, which involves providing more pedestrian areas in the port for leisure activities. The project is currently being drafted and is being studied by the City Council's experts. Finally, extending the port area to gain more pavement space and more room for outdoor cafés and restaurants coincides with the measure promoted by the City Council to open up urban spaces to pedestrians and shops to the detriment of vehicles. These include the road on the sea side of Palma's seafront promenade.

APB acquires 20 hand-held thermal imaging cameras and one thermal imaging camera for large groups of people for health control in ports

14/05/2020

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has acquired a total of 20 hand-held thermal imaging cameras and one thermal imaging camera for large groups. These cameras are being used in the passenger health checks that the Balearic Government is carrying out in the Islands' public ports, in partnership with the Red Cross. These cameras began to be deployed on Monday, replacing the temperature guns and digital thermometers that had previously been used. Checks are being carried out on passengers in the arrival areas of the scheduled ferry services at the ports of Palma, Alcudia, Mahon and Ibiza. Checks on passengers bound for La Savina are carried out in the boarding area of the Port of Ibiza. The thermal imaging camera for large groups will be installed at the Port of Ibiza, the APB-managed port that handles the largest number of scheduled ferry passengers.

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands reduces fees for outdoor café and restaurants to the legal minimum

08/05/2020

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has already begun talking to companies in the hospitality industry to terminate the licences authorising the occupancy of public port land with tables and chairs for their outdoor cafés and restaurants, by mutual agreement, so that fees no longer accrue. These occupancy licences were in force at the time the state of alarm was declared and the cafés and restaurants had to stop trading. Businesses wishing to open and use these outdoor areas, once the Transition Plan to a New Normality (PTNN) authorises them to do so, will be granted new licences, with preferential terms and conditions, as the required charge will be reduced to the legal minimum. In addition, in establishments where there is enough room to do so, extending these outdoor seating areas will be looked into. This will make it easier to adapt these areas to the new constraints imposed by health and social distancing requirements. The withdrawal of the licences as of the day the state of alarm came into effect is the only way to stop companies from continuing to accrue fees, even though they have not been able to open for business. Spanish Royal Decree-Law 15/2020, of 21st April, on additional urgent measures to support the economy and employment, does not provide for fee exemptions. Therefore, at its last meeting, the APB Board of Directors agreed to withdraw the current occupancy licences, if authorised companies request this. These measures will have a significant impact on reducing the fees that companies will have to pay in the public ports of Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina in 2020. They are also the result of continuous talks between the APB, the business community, the State-owned Ports Body and local, island and regional governments in an attempt to mitigate the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic as far as possible. Other aid available to companies In addition to this measure, the APB has temporarily suspended the issuing of invoices for occupancy and activity charges for all its concessionaires and authorised companies. Although these charges are normally paid in advance at the beginning of the year, to date no fees have been invoiced for 2020. This means that no concessionaire or authorised company has yet paid any amounts in this respect. In addition, the APB is already approving interest-free payment plans, without the need for collateral, for concessionaires who are having difficulty making payments that were already due before the state of alarm was declared. In addition to all these measures the APB is already implementing, such as the reduction of the activity charge, the temporary suspension of the payment of port charges, the approval of payment plans, the advance withdrawal of licences to use public port land for outdoor cafés and restaurants, other cuts in fees have been approved by the State-owned Ports Body to support the economy and bolster employment, which will mean savings of over €100 million for companies operating in Spanish state-owned ports.

The APB and Mahon City Council agree to restrict road traffic in the port of Mahon in favour of pedestrian use

07/05/2020

This weekend, vehicle access to the Poniente quay road, in the Port of Mahon, will be restricted to residents living in the area. This will increase the amount of space available for pedestrians and will prevent crowds from forming, thus reducing the risk of Covid-19 contagion. This measure, proposed by the Mahon City Council, will initially be implemented between Friday 8th and Sunday 10th May. Road access between the Costa de Rochina and the Costa de Corea will be restricted on Friday from 8pm to 11pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 10am and from 8pm to 11pm. During phase 0 of the de-escalation period, there have been large numbers of people walking around the port during the leisure time slots allocated to the over-14 age groups. In this regard, the Mahon City Council, in coordination with the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), has decided to extend the amount of space available to pedestrians as well as to restrict vehicle traffic in this area and in other areas that come under municipal jurisdiction. Institutional coordination The APB coincides with the Mahon City Council on this issue and is aware that the appeal of the port means that a considerable number of people gravitate to the area to do sport or go for a walk, especially at weekends. This fact, combined with the usual vehicle traffic on this stretch, leads to a build-up of people on the waterfront that is not recommended at present. In this sense, the City Council maintains the recommendations of the last municipal ruling regarding the movement of people in public areas. This states that people should all move along the right-hand side of the road, in the same direction as the road traffic, to prevent unnecessary contact with oncoming pedestrians. The APB joins the City Council in thanking the local residents for their cooperation and calls for them to be responsible when it comes to going outside. It also concurs with the Council in that if progress is to be made, it is essential to continue with the social discipline that the vast majority of the people of Mahon have shown over the last few weeks.