News APB | Ports de Balears

The APB signs a cooperation agreement with the Formentera Island Council to handle emergencies at the Port of La Savina

18/12/2014

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) and the Formentera Island Council have today signed a cooperation agreement on fire prevention, firefighting, sea rescue, and civil defence at the Port of La Savina. As a result, both organisations have committed to increasing safety levels in the port’s service area, both on land and in the water, over the next 15 years. Under this agreement, which was ratified by the APB Chairman, Alberto Pons, and the President of the Island Council, Jaume Ferrer, the APB undertakes to supply a small new or semi-new fire engine in a period of two years to improve the equipment available in the port area. The APB will also contribute €20,000 per year to acquire material resources and provide specific training for Formentera firefighters, and will make a one-off payment of €10,000 to purchase different kinds of emergency equipment. In turn, the Formentera Island Council undertakes to provide a specialist service in fire prevention, firefighting, civil defence, sea rescue, and emergency monitoring in the port’s service area, preferably assigning at least one fire brigade to the port area, along with the material resources required to ensure safety at the port. Both the APB and the Formentera Island Council value this agreement extremely positively as it takes advantage of the available resources and synergies, and therefore prevents services from being duplicated.

The APB presents a proposal for a new terminal at the Port of Ibiza to handle traffic between Ibiza and Formentera

15/12/2014

At a press conference held today, the APB put forward a proposal for a new terminal at the Port of Ibiza to handle traffic between the islands of Ibiza and Formentera. This project had previously been presented to the Ibiza and Formentera authorities, and to the shipping companies that run services between the Pityusic Islands. The APB aims to reach the maximum possible consensus on this project. The consolidation of this proposal is vital to be able to start the second phase of redesigning the seafront at the Port of Ibiza.

The proposal to build an underground car park raises major concerns in the APB

03/12/2014

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) considers that the proposal to build an underground car park in the south area of the Port of Ibiza, presented by the company Urbex, raises major concerns, both in terms of its technical and economic feasibility. Similarly, the APB Chairman, Alberto Pons, informed the Majorca Island Council and the City Council this morning that it is a complex project to sustain. “I understand that the project is an ambitious one and is good for the city, but it has already been analysed and was unfortunately ruled out”. Technical issues The APB, in a letter signed by its Chairman and sent to the representative of Urbex, has stated that building a car park below the water table at the Port of Ibiza’s Inner Quay is extremely likely to affect the structures of the buildings in the area, as it may harm their foundations, either through ground vibrations or by reducing the effective stress of the land. The car park plans presented at the request of the Architects Association of Ibiza and Formentera do not include the underpass for the sewer system or the electrical installation that run through the area near the quayside. Their inclusion would mean having to build the car park further underground than initially planned, and thus generate an increase in the project’s cost. The proposal plans to raise the area near the sea by 50 centimetres compared to the promenade, thus breaking up the even horizontal surface. In the APB’s opinion, this implies going against one of the premises of the project, which is to prevent differences in floor levels between the quayside and the pavement next to the façades. To avoid this, the car park would have to be built much further underground. In addition, the idea is for cars to park underneath the quayside’s natural stone surface. This would involve the car park being built about 80 cm down, i.e. the thickness of the existing stones. This aspect has not been taken into account either in the plans.

The APB authorises Andratx to open a public observation point at the La Mola lighthouse

29/11/2014

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has awarded the Andratx Town Council a temporary occupancy authorisation to open an observation point at the La Mola lighthouse. The council had requested a surface area of 45 square metres for this observation point. As a result of this agreement, Andratx Town Council has to pay the APB annual occupancy and activity fees of €196. The council undertakes to carry out the work needed to fit out the balcony which looks over the cliff as a public observation point. Access to the La Mola lighthouse will be limited and will still only be available to the APB. As a result of the authorisation, Andratx Town Council will have to paint the La Mola lighthouse, and if the occupancy is renewed, it will have to paint it every two years to ensure it is kept in good condition. Similarly, it will be responsible for maintaining and cleaning the observation point and for removing any graffiti that may appear as a result of it being open to the public. It will be allowed to install suitable lighting in the facility, as long as this does not interfere with maritime signalling. Compatible uses This initiative is part of the APB’s policy to reach agreements with both public and private-sector investors to promote alternative uses for lighthouses that are compatible with their function as navigational aids, and thus contribute to their upkeep. Other examples of this include the Ses Salines lighthouse, where Imedea has a research centre the Llebeig and Tramuntana lighthouses, which the Majorcan Government uses to publicise the Sa Dragonera natural park, and the Cavalleria lighthouse, which has a maritime interpretation centre, and a project for a museum promoted by the Es Mercadal Town Council. Similarly, the private sector has set up restaurants inside the lighthouses of Formentor and Artrutx.

The APB’s Board of Directors awards the mooring management tender to Marina de Formentera at the Port of La Savina

28/11/2014

Yesterday afternoon, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands’ Board of Directors awarded the company Marina de Formentera, S.A., an administrative concession to manage the recreational craft moorings at the Port of La Savina’s Poniente Dock. The bid made by this company was the best offer in the public tender. Marina de Formentera offers a yearly fee of €930,000, investment of over €500,000, and a concession period of seven years, five years less than the maximum duration established in the tender conditions. The project envisages operations on an area of public port land at the Formentera port which has a total surface area of 17,235 square metres. The land surface area of 5,410 square metres includes several buildings which house the premises of different companies, such as car hire firms, sailing equipment retailers, restaurants, and a petrol station for supplying fuel to recreational craft.

The APB has informed the Palma City Council that the PGOU cannot interfere with or disturb port operations

28/11/2014

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has informed the Palma City Council that "general plans and other general urban development instruments should classify the service area of state-owned ports as part of the general port system, and should not include decisions which mean interfering with or disturbing port operations”. In December 2013, coinciding with the public scrutiny stage of the basic planning guidelines for the review of the Palma General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), the APB sent the Palma City Council a letter claiming that the council´s guidelines "include decisions which interfere with and disturb port operations" as these state that the La Riba promenade, the Former Quay, and the Camino de la Escollera will be returned to the city. These areas cannot be returned to the city, continues the APB letter, as they never belonged to it. They were reclaimed from the sea and created by what is today the Port Authority, which at the time had a different name, and they have always been the Port of Majorca’s service area. The APB reminded the council that the port’s planning instruments are the Special Port Plan, passed definitively by the Palma City Council on 30th January 1997, the Port Area Usage Plan (PUEP), passed by the Spanish Ministry of Development in the Ministerial Order of 19th May 2005, and the Infrastructure Master Plan, which is currently being prepared and is pending processing.

The APB holds a meeting of the Institutional Forum for Quality in the Public Sector at Port Adriano

13/11/2014

Coinciding with World Quality Day, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) organised a conference for members of the Institutional Forum for Quality in the Public Sector in the Balearic Islands at the Port Adriano Marina, in the municipality of Calvià. The conference showcased the latest developments in quality and innovation implemented in this marina, which were explained by the Deputy Chairman of the Association of Marinas and Nautical Facilities in the Balearic Islands (ANADE), Isabel Teruel. During the meeting, a quality commitment declaration was signed by the Confederation of Businessowner Associations in the Balearic Islands (CAEB), and by AENOR, ASEPEYO, and the Association of Business Agents, which reflected their commitment to making quality an essential part of their organisation. The meeting also heralded the announcement of the imminent start-up of the Forum’s website, which will be hosted on the corporate web of the Balearic Islands’ Regional Government, and revealed details of the Forum’s 2015 meeting, which will kick off on board the MSC Preziosa cruise ship on 22nd April. World Quality Day was created by the United Nations in 1990 in order to raise worldwide awareness of the contribution quality makes towards the progress of nations. The APB, as the Forum’s coordinating body, has taken on the mission to act as a meeting point to promote and coordinate cooperation between public authorities and their staff in a culture of management excellence, and to drive continuous improvement in the public sector in the Balearic Islands. Today’s meeting was attended by the Calvià Town Councillor, Esperanza Català, and the Ministry of Defence representative in the Balearic Islands, Manuel Fernández-Roca, amongst other personalities.

The APB Chairman explains the project to redesign the seafront at the Port of Ibiza

23/10/2014

In view of the information published yesterday about the start of the work to redesign and improve the South Quays at the Port of Ibiza, the Chairman of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) gave the following explanations: 1.- The project has been authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Development, the body which authorises work of public interest to be carried out on public port land. This type of work does not require a municipal licence. In addition to all the necessary procedures required to carry out this project, a consensus has been reached on the aspects proposed by the Ibiza Town Council and the Ibiza Island Council. In terms of environmental procedures, and after a report from the Spanish Ministry of Development, it has been concluded that the project does not require an environmental assessment procedure, as it is not included in appendices I and II, nor in the situations set out in article 7.2.c, of Spanish Law 21/2013, of 9th December, on Environmental Assessment. 2.- The APB has a report from the Central Government Attorney’s Office and from the Balearic Islands Attorney’s Office which show that the area affected by the project works does not come under the heritage jurisdiction of the Ibiza Island Council. To further clarify this issue for future initiatives in the area, although it is not necessary, the APB, through the Government Attorney’s Office in the Balearic Islands, has asked the Spanish Ministry of Culture to prepare a report on the issues put forward by the Heritage Department of the Ibiza Island Council. 3.-In previous meetings held between the APB and Heritage Technical Committee experts, no serious incompatibilities between the project and the area’s heritage requirements were brought up. 4.- The APB is ready to start the work in October 2014, so that it is finished before the month of June 2015, thus preventing the problems that a delay in the work would cause the local businesses in the area, as the work would hinder access to businesses in the south area of the Port of Vila in the high season.

The APB, committed to responsible relationship management

16/10/2014

The APB is involved in a process to implement responsible relationship management among its staff to identify the APB’s mission, vision and values, and apply them in its daily activities to serve society. Over the last seven months, nearly two dozen employees from the different ports managed by the APB have voluntarily taken part in building the foundations of responsible management for this public body. This will open up new ways to ensure that the work started by this core group is transmitted to the rest of the APB staff so that the end results of the initiative have a positive effect on society’s perception of the organisation.

The APB approves the tender terms and conditions for the new Cós Nou dry dock at the Port of Maó

10/10/2014

The APB’s Board of Directors has approved the terms and conditions governing the public tender to operate the facilities for vessel docking and launching, and providing supplies at the Cós Nou Quay at the Port of Maó. The tender will allow the APB to choose the best bid to grant an administrative concession to occupy an esplanade with a land surface area of 20,353 square metres, which can be extended, and a water surface of 7,016 square metres, making a total surface area of 27,369 square metres. The minimum annual tender is €285,418.31, and the maximum duration of the concession is 32 years.

The Port of Maó will be connected to the city via escalators

10/10/2014

The APB’s Board of Directors has approved a cooperation agreement between the APB and the Maó Town Council to improve access via Costa de Ses Voltes street, which links the port to the town via stone steps. The agreement will set out the framework for installing an escalator to improve access and links between the Port of Maó and the town centre.

The APB gives the go-ahead for work to redesign the seafront at the Port of Ibiza to get underway

01/10/2014

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has given the go-ahead on fitting out and modernising the South Quays at the Port of Ibiza with the tender awarded today to the company Corsán-Corviam Construcción, S.A., valued at €5.5 million (€5,556,899.70). The company has seven months to complete the work as soon as the verification of the onsite layout is signed, which is scheduled to take place in about two or three weeks. Corsán-Corviam Construcción was the winner of the open tender, in which 18 companies and consortia took part. The tender budget was €8.2 million (€8,279,052.00). The project to redesign the Port of Ibiza’s seafront, funded by the APB, aims to achieve seamless integration between the port and the city, with the creation of a square, a bike lane, the removal of physical barriers between both areas, and maximum restrictions on vehicle access in the area. The site will be used to build a new 600 m2 single-storey construction, made up of a 400m2 building and a 200m2 covered area, in which premises to provide marina services, such as storerooms, changing rooms, and offices, will be located alongside a 130m2 facility set aside for public uses, such as a tourist information office, and toilets.