News APB | Ports de Balears

Marc Pons appointed new member of board of directors

26/09/2008

The Government of the Balearic Islands has appointed today, in the governing council to the president of the Island Council of Minorca, Marc Pons, as a new member of the board of the Port Authority of Balearic Islands (PAB), in place of Joana Barceló, current counsellor for the Department of Labour and Training of the autonomous executive. Marc Pons has been summoned by the PAB to attend the next meeting of the board of directors to be held October 2 in Palma de Mallorca, at which time the bids for the moorings at the Levante dock in the Port of Mahon will be settled.

Granted the operation of three new cement silos in Alcudia

25/09/2008

The technical committee of the PAB, which is responsible for reporting on the bids submitted to public tender for the operation of a center for storage and distribution of cement in the Ribera dock at the Port of Alcudia, has accepted the bid from the company Reunides Sitges, SL. The board of the PAB voted in favour of the tender proposed by the chairman of the PAB, Francesc Triay, in accordance with the assessment made by the technical committee. Sitges Reunides has offered, in their bid, to take over the installation and operation of three new cement storage silos for fourteen years, which are expected to turn over at least 120,000 tons of cement annually.

Cruise companies invited by the PAB visit Balearic Islands

17/09/2008

The PAB and the Spanish Tourist Office in Miami organized a familiarization trip (fam trip) for the Balearic Islands to introduce the main cruise companies to the tourist attractions of the islands. From the 12th to the16th of September they toured Ibiza, Formentera, Majorca and Minorca and visited, in addition to the ports of the PAB, Dalt Vila of Ibiza, Sant Antoni, Santa Eulària, the Mola Formentera, the historic center of Palma, the Serra de Tramuntana, Alcudia, Mahon and Cuitadella. The companies that participatedwere Carnival Cruises, Holland America Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Wind Star Cruises. Those involved in organizing the trip were the four island councils, the Tourist Board, the Chamber of Commerce of Ibiza and Formentera, the Destí Foundation of Minorca and the municipalities where the visits took place. This initiative is part of the policy for the promotion of foreign tourism which is being carried out by the PAB and is expanding through its multiple contacts at the International Cruise Fair of Miami.

The APB plans to invest 116 million in construction in the Port of Ibiza

05/09/2008

The PAB is forecast to invest 116 million euros until beyond 2012 in the completion of the new terminal for cargo and passengers projected for the Port of Ibiza. The Business Plan for the PAB has approved an estimated investment of 115.7 million euros in construction in the Port of Ibiza. The projects include the construction of the esplanade and the two quays, with a forecast budget of 70 million. The work has an estimated duration of 24 months. Subsequent to the creation of the surface at Botafoc, the PAB plans to build a regular line passenger terminal, with an estimated budget of 10.8 million euros. The Business Plan for the PAB has also projected an estimated investment of 16 million euros in improving the docks neighbouring the district of Ibiza Marina, with the construction of a new passenger terminal for traffic between the islands of Ibiza and Formentera

Cruise Companies visiting the Balearic Islands on a promotional trip

12/08/2008

The PAB has organized a familiarization trip (Fam Trip), in collaboration with the Spanish Tourist Office in Miami, to the ports of Palma, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina, with the aim of raising awareness among major international cruise companies of new attractions in the Balearic Islands as a tourist destination. Apart from getting to know the port facilities and projects that the PAB has underway to enhance the cruise traffic in each of its ports, the delegation will be taken on tours through the various islands and will hear first-person accounts of new tourist attractions in the Balearic Islands. Representatives of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland Americas Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Windstars Cruises, Majestic Americas Line, Celebrity Cruises and Pullmantur will visit the islands of Ibiza and Formentera on the 12th, 13th and 14th of September, Majorca on the 15th and will complete its journey on September 16th in Minorca

6'5 million in infrastructure at the port of Palma

06/08/2008

The PAB has recently completed several projects in the Port of Palma with an overall investment of more than six and a half million euros and that consisted mainly of improvements to port infrastructures for cruise traffic and transport of cargo and passengers.Among the highlights was the new image of the cruise ship boarding lounge of Dique del Oeste. With a budget of close to 340,000 euros, it promotes the islands as a tourist destination with large photographs and also facilitates access for passengers to luggage check-in and public transport services.At Passenger Terminal No. 1 a new mobile walkway was installed, budgeted at about 600,000 euros, to facilitate direct embarkation to ships. At the same time, three new berths were built worth 1,200,000 euros at the far end of the docks of Poniente del Norte y Sur, allowing the extension of their mooring lines.With a budget of nearly three million euros, they have expanded the loading and unloading zones at the Commercial Docks from 20.5 meters to 40 meters. And in improvements to services of regular passenger lines, 173,000 euros have been invested in the repair of the pre-embarkation parking area located between terminals 2 and 3.Finally, with an allocation of about one and a half million euros, the PAB has improved the Services Building, modernizing and facilitating public access to the port police station and other offices, and rehabilitating the old building popularly known as "la Lavendaria de la Tras", to locate there workshops of the PAB.

Concession of moorings of the old Ibiza Nueva granted to Semar

31/07/2008

The PAB has granted the operation of berths on the north bank of the old Ibiza Nueva, in the Port of Ibiza, to the company Serveis SL Maritims Port d'Eivissa (Semar), for a period of 17 years. This finalizes the Authorization of Temporary Occupation (AOT) of the space that Semar had been using since April 2008. This permit authorized the management of the moorings of this zone of the Port of Ibiza pending the processing of the application for the concession and after the finalization the AOT of the previous company operating in Ibiza Nueva.Semar will contribute an annual fee of 5.6 million euros over the duration of the 17 years of the concession and an initial investment of 27.5 million for the improvement existing facilities.

13 percent increase in cruise ship passengers

28/07/2008

During the first half of 2008, the major ports managed by the PAB experienced an increase of 13 percent in cruise ship passengers, compared to the same period last year. From 30 January to the 1 June of this year, 506,404 cruisers passed through these Balearic ports, compared to 446,352 recorded the previous year. The Port of Ibiza recorded an increase of 19 percent, with a total of 33,780 passengers, followed by Palma, with an increase of 13 percent and 432,705 passengers, and Mahon, with 39,182 passengers, which was 9 percent more than in the first six months of 2007. On the contrary, the PAB ports registered a drop of 6 percent in passenger traffic of regular lines. In terms of freight traffic, there was an 8 percent decrease in the first half of 2008, with a total of 6,828,897 tonnes.

New provisional passenger waiting area in the Port of Ibiza

24/07/2008

The PAB has put into service the new provisional waiting area for boarding passengers in the terminal at the Port of Ibiza. The aim is to improve conditions for the passengers until the new Botafoc terminal is ready.The PAB has conditioned the first floor of the former passenger terminal of the Port of Ibiza with an air-conditioning system, toilets and seating, so that passengers have a secure, cool and comfortable place to wait for arriving vessels.. The external stairs have also been regulated to conform to the laws of general use and fire safety, with the installation of emergency doors and fire extinguishers. Meanwhile, work has started on the installation of awnings on the outside of the terminal and the rearrangement of parking spaces. The entry into service of this provisional waiting area does not replace existing ones on the ground floor. The total budget of the project amounts to 110,000 euros.The PAB has put into service the new provisional waiting area for boarding passengers in the terminal at the Port of Ibiza. The aim is to improve conditions for the passengers until the new Botafoc terminal is ready.The PAB has conditioned the first floor of the former passenger terminal of the Port of Ibiza with an air-conditioning system, toilets and seating, so that passengers have a secure, cool and comfortable place to wait for arriving vessels.. The external stairs have also been regulated to conform to the laws of general use and fire safety, with the installation of emergency doors and fire extinguishers. Meanwhile, work has started on the installation of awnings on the outside of the terminal and the rearrangement of parking spaces. The entry into service of this provisional waiting area does not replace existing ones on the ground floor. The total budget of the project amounts to 110,000 euros.

10.000 cruise passengers in the Port of Palma in one day

22/07/2008

The Port of Palma recorded, on July 17, a record of 10,000 cruise passengers in one day, accommodating three megacruiseships and another medium in size at its docks. The four ships were Costa Magica, with 101,350 tonnes and 272 metres MSC Orchestra, with 92,409 tonnes and 293 metres Arcadia, with 83,000 tonnes and 285 metres and Thomsom Destiny, with 37,773 tonnes and 214 metres. The Port of Palma is expected, in 2008, to beat the historic record of 500 stopovers in the same year.

Criminal complaint dismissed against former president of the PAB

10/07/2008

Magistrate No. 7 in Palma, has agreed to the dismissal of the interim criminal complaint filed by the company Boat Yard Palma, against the former chairman of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (PAB), Joan Verger, for giving the concession of the dry dock of the commercial docks in the Port of Palma to Port Technical Services (PTS ). Likewise, expert evidence requested by the complainant was denied. The judge has also imposed court costs to Boat Yard due to the fact that “temerity has been observed in the imposition of this lawsuit." In November 2006, Boat Yard filed a criminal complaint against the former president of the PAB, for alleged crimes of fraud, prohibited activities and prevarication of the resolution of the bid for procurement of haul out services for boats at the commercial docks of the Port of Palma in favour of STP. The proceedings, dated 2 July 2008, are filed in the provisional archives.In the brief, the judge revealed that charges by the complainant for the alleged offence of fraud by a public body were not supported with evidence. Among other arguments, the judge considered the declaration of the Technical Commission in charge of resolving the results of the bidding, which points out that the technical report was written unanimously by its three divisions. It also suggests that in the vote of the Board of Directors of the PAB, there were no votes against and that there were several abstentions from management heads, which were justified in that they did not want to decide in favour of any of their clients. Finally, the judge’s indictment contends that it does not appear that anyone was pressured by the former president of the PAB to make a conclusive report for awarding the concession to STP.

The PAB reconstructs the walls around lighthouses of Minorca

07/07/2008

Over the past few The PAB has conducted the rebuilding of the enclosures surrounding the buildings attached to the lighthouses of Minorca. These are, for the most part, stone walls, built in the traditional way, which tend to crumble and collapse over time. The reconstruction work has respected the structural integrity of the existing, traditional enclosures typical to Minorca. They consist of two trapezoidal faces made of rough, native stone, crowned by what is called “esquena d’ase”. The reconstruction, with a budget of 130,000 euros, has been carried out at the lighthouses of Favàritx, Cap d'Artrutx, Cap de Cavalleria, Sa Punta Nati, Port Ciutadella and Sant Carles.