The APB grants authorisation for the management of a nautical facility for small and medium-sized boats in the port of Eivissa to Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles
18/04/2024
At a meeting held today in Palma, the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) agreed to grant the authorisation for the management of moorings for boats up to fifteen metres in length at the Ribera-Poniente quay in the port of Eivissa to the company Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles, S.L. This is the most advantageous bid submitted to the tender, which aims to ensure special attention is paid to the promotion and teaching of sport, as a benchmark for social responsibility in the nautical sector.
The meeting saw a lengthy debate on the issue of excluding Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles, whose representative has been convicted of procedural fraud, from the tender. The State Attorney's Office dismissed this possibility, which is why the Board of Directors, in the absence of an alternative, has resolved the tender in view of the report of the technical committee.
The Board of Directors of the APB reached this decision after hearing the technical committee's report assessing the bids submitted to the tender, in which Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles was proposed as the most advantageous solution of all those bidding for the tender. The authorisation will last for a period of one year, which may be extended up to a maximum of three years.
Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles is committed to invest €1.9 million to install a floating dock to reduce marine agitation in the inner dock. Another €240,000 will be invested in environmental improvements, including photovoltaic panels, an aquatic drone to clean the water surface and the installation of sensors to detect hydrocarbon spills, among other initiatives.
According to the tender assessment criteria, the investment focused particularly on the safety of the facilities accounted for 20% of the total score, while the investment in environmental improvements accounted for 5%.
Social approach
The commitment of the bidders to carry out training or educational, sporting, social or cultural activities of a non-profit nature in the nearly thirty thousand square metres of total surface area of the port public domain was one of the points to be considered in the tender. This is a novel approach, since this criterion represents 30% of the score, as it constitutes a firm commitment of the port organisation to ensure that the sporting and social aspect of the facilities is enhanced.
Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles has committed itself to contribute €360,000 per year to training courses in nautical-sports activities, the organisation of regattas, as well as activities and events of this nature, in collaboration with local organisations, to help people with disabilities and those at risk of social exclusion.
The proposal by Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles maintains the current rates for mooring boats up to 8 metres in length, which represents 62% of the current fleet, while increasing them for those of greater length up to 15 metres, including both basic and transient boats, provided they are within the market price range of the Port of Eivissa. This criterion has had the greatest weight in the appraisal, with 40% of the total.
As far as the annual fee to be paid to the APB for the occupation of the space is concerned, none of the bids presented any improvement on the minimum of €334,000 plus 4% of the turnover required in the tender specifications. This criterion represents 5% of the overall score, due to the fact that the APB has not pursued economic profit as a decisive factor in choosing the winning bid.
Short-term future
As the winning bidder, Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles agrees to safeguard the rights of the current moorers of this nautical facility, as well as to maintain its current employees. Management of the facility will commence, provided that the administrative formalities arising from this agreement are satisfactorily completed, on 5 May, the date on which the current authorisation expires.
The APB is already working on drafting the terms and conditions for a new tender that will guarantee an administrative concession for a long-term period of 20 to 30 years, within the legislative framework, and which will favour investment, enable its amortisation and thus promote projects' economic viability. The APB's objective is to tender, assess and award this concession before the maximum period of three years of this authorisation expires.
