Noticias APB | Ports de Balears

The air quality sensors used in the APB’s ports are declared the most precise on the market

22/01/2024

The equipment used to measure air quality at the five major ports managed by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) was declared the most precise on the market in the 2023 AIRLAB Microsensors Challenge. This aim of this event, which is organised by Airparif, is to evaluate and compare the performance of different multi-pollutant sensors under actual conditions of use. In this fourth edition of the Challenge, the equipment manufactured by Kunak, which is installed in the ports of Palma, Alcúdia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina, stood out in particular for its capacity to precisely measure two of the pollutants that play a key role in air quality: ozone (O3) and fine particulates (PM₂). The APB has installed a total of 25 measuring stations at the five major ports it manages. With the aim of improving air quality, the monitoring system and smart environmental platform provide data on air pollution in real time. In line with the principle that “what cannot be measured, cannot be managed”, since 2016 the APB has been working to improve a digital platform that now has the capacity to provide real-time air quality data, as well as alerts to identify pollution hotspots at the five major ports it manages. The platform also makes it possible to calculate the back trajectories of any pollutants identified by the sensors. Other accolades The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) cited the air quality monitoring and improvement project at the APB’s ports as a successful case study at the 13th edition of Med Days, an international conference that took place in October 2023. The same project also won the international award for the best air quality monitoring network at the 2022 edition of the Air Quality and Emissions Show (AQE), which took place in Telford in the United Kingdom. The AQE is one of the world’s leading trade fairs in the field of air quality and industrial emissions.

Environment and CSR

The works to protect the foundations of the Botafoc dock in the Port of Ibiza are finished in record time

17/01/2024

Today, the works to repair and modify the elements protecting the foundations of the Botafoc dock in the Port of Ibiza were officially declared complete, 16 months ahead of schedule. This morning, the APB carried out the final examination of the works, which were then handed over to an inspector from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. The works commenced in November 2022, with the construction of concrete blocks in the Port of Alicante, which were then transported to the Port of Ibiza and laid in May 2023. The final stage of the works came to an end in November last year. According to the timetable set out in the agreement, the works were scheduled to finish in March 2025. The works mark the completion of the project to reinforce the Botafoc dock, which had a final tender budget of 11.3 million euros. The works were completed 16 months ahead of schedule. Reinforcement of the dock Over the past few years, a certain amount of damage to the main mantle of the bank of the Botafoc dock had been observed and subsequently confirmed via the underwater inspections carried out as part of the APB’s five-yearly inspection programme. The aim of the project was to repair and modify the dock’s three constituent sections (base, trunk and head) in order to make it resistant to the current maritime climate, which may have changed since the original maritime climate study was carried out. For the base section, the work consisted of repositioning the six-tonne blocks that sit on the current crown of the bank. Some 1.5 tonnes of rockfill were placed onto this base in order to maintain the slope of the filter formed by the previous blocks. Lastly, a two-layer sloping mantle of 20-tonne blocks was added on top of the previous materials. In the trunk and head section, the original three-tonne blocks were repositioned and a main mantle, comprised of 20-tonne blocks, was laid on top of them. Owing to the nature of the works and the number of elements involved, the project was implemented using sea-based resources: the blocks were made in the Port of Alicante and transported by ship to the Port of Ibiza, in order to prevent any impacts on road traffic and land-based port operations. Botafoc dock The Botafoc dock, 515 metres long and with a maximum draught of 20 metres, has a submerged bank of cubic concrete blocks, formed by 12 concrete caissons. The crown wall with a waveguard is 7 metres above sea level. It is connected to the town by a 1,200 metre-long road. This has increased safety, because the unloading of oil products can now be carried out at a greater distance than before the dock was built. This also allows large cruise ships to dock there.

Transport and infrastructure

The APB repaves the children’s playground at Botafoc in the Port of Ibiza

09/01/2024

Over the last few weeks, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has completed the repaving of the children’s playground at Botafoc in the Port of Ibiza. The new surface makes the playground safer for users, as it combines sand with floated concrete and rubber (which has been installed under the swings). Additionally, at one end of the children’s playground a new feature has been added, consisting of a rubberised play circuit with artificial grass in the middle. Towards the end of last year, work was also carried out to adapt, repave, repaint and add signage to the cycle lane on Calle de Ibosim in Botafoc dock. The work forms part of the plan to maintain and improve the port facilities and enhance integration between the port and the city.

Port-city Socio-economic development

The APB extends Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles' authorisation to operate La Savina harbour's east dock

21/12/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the final extension of the term allowed in the temporary occupation authorisation to operate the eastern dock for small boats in the port of La Savina at its latest meeting, held yesterday in Palma. Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles is the company currently occupying and operating this area, after being chosen as the most advantageous solution in 2021 following a public tender. This most recent extension is for one year and is the second extension allowed by the current authorisation's terms and conditions. Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles manages a surface area of more than 12,500 square metres, with 400 metres of mooring line. It also includes a ground floor building measuring 1,066 square metres made up of commercial premises and arcades, plus 330 square metres of open-air terraces. The occupation authorisation will allow the mooring of 91 recreational boats, from 8 to 24 metres in length.

Socio-economic development

The APB launches a public tender for the commercial operation of the fish market at the Contramuelle-Mollet in the port of Palma

21/12/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the specifications and operating clauses that shall govern the public tender to grant a commercial operating licence for the fish market, located in the Contramuelle-Mollet in the port of Palma, at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma. This facility has a total surface area of almost 1,900 square metres of public port area. The duration of the contract will be five years. The annual occupancy fee will be at least 24,000 euros, and the minimum activity fee will be five thousand euros a year. The fish market at the Contramuelle-Mollet in the port of Palma is once again being tendered after the APB Board of Directors decided at the same meeting held yesterday to reject the proposal presented by OPMALLORCAMAR as it did not meet the conditions required in the Tender Specifications.

Socio-economic development

The APB launches a public tender to manage two facilities for mooring recreational boats in the port of Palma

21/12/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the terms and conditions and operating clauses for the public tenders to manage and operate two facilities for mooring recreational boats in the port of Palma at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma. The maximum duration of both contracts may not exceed ten years. The first facility is located between the Local Traffic terminal or Golondrinas wharf and the Mediterranean pontoon, currently occupied by Marina Port de Mallorca. The total surface area is almost 72,000 square metres between the land area and the water mirror. Once the annual occupancy rate has been improved, it will be 950,000 euros. While the activity tax will be 4% of the turnover developed by the operator. The second tender is to manage and operate the mooring posts on the Quarantine jetty. The space covered by this call for tenders amounts to more than 18,000 square metres of public port area. The annual occupation fee, which is to be improved, is 350,000 euros and the activity fee will be 4% of the turnover developed by the operator.

Socio-economic development

The APB launches a tender for the beaching and launching area at Cós Nou in the port of Maó

21/12/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the specifications and operating clauses governing the public tender to grant a concession to manage and operate the area for dry dock and boat launching services, located at Cós Nou in the port of Maó, at its last meeting held yesterday in Palma. The space subject to tender has a minimum surface area of twenty-four thousand square metres of public port domain, which may be extended. The duration of the contract may not exceed twenty-five years. The annual amount of the occupation fee, subject to the possibility of improvements being offered, is 177,000 euros. The activity fee will be two percent of the turnover of the services that must be provided by the concessionaire. Boat repair and maintenance services, in addition to the operator, may be provided by any company authorised by the APB to carry them out. This means that the operator will not have an exclusivity arrangement for providing these services. However, it will have an exclusive arrangement for dry docking, launching and supplies to vessels. The APB has a motorised crane or travel lift at Cós Nou which is used to move vessels of up to 150 tonnes.

Socio-economic development

The Menorcan illustrator, Ivan Triay, designs the Christmas card and the APB 2024 calendar

12/12/2023

Ivan Triay knows the secret of Mediterranean living. In fact, a well-known brand of beer entrusted him with promoting one of its summer advertising campaigns. Indeed, summer and the Mediterranean are a constant theme in the work of this painter, illustrator and graphic designer who was born in Menorca, where everything happens at the speed of his drawings. The APB has commissioned the artist to design its 2024 calendar and Christmas card on the condition that they feature the five general interest ports and several lighthouses, while giving particular prominence to the port of Maó. -Why is it always summer in your work? Have you accepted irreversible climate change? -I've never thought about it... but it's true, it's always summer I didn't even realise. I suppose I associate summer with holidays in Menorca. I've lived in Barcelona for more than 20 years, and I usually spend a good part of the summer in sa Roqueta recharging my batteries, and I suppose it's also where I get the most inspiration for my work... which is why I tend to draw people in short sleeves and lots of sea... Climate change, unfortunately, is already with us, and I think it's here to stay. -The Mallorcan guitarist Joan Bibiloni wrote Una Vida Llarga y Tranquila. Does this title resonate with the existential objective of your characters? -Without a doubt, it's the "good life" as we say over there. It's the summers of the past, those endless holidays... And let's not fool ourselves it's the best way to live, and I would say it's not just the life objective of my characters it's everyone's. -You're already very familiar with the landscapes of Menorca and Barcelona. How did you find drawing Palma, Alcudia, Eivissa and la Savina? -Honestly, it was quite a challenge. I've never been to any of these places, and I don't know them, which makes drawing them a bit tricky. Luckily, you advised me well, and with the help of some pictures I found, I think I've managed to do a good job. -How well do you know the port of Maó? -Very well, although I'm from Ciutadella, I spent a lot of my childhood in Maó. My mother was a nurse who worked for many years in the old hospital, and one of the things I remember are the views of the port from that building. Later, I ended up studying in Mahón. I travelled there every day from Ciutadella. I know the city quite well, and also its impressive port. -And the lighthouses? What do lighthouses represent for a Menorcan like you? -They're the guides that lead us to a safe harbour. They represent safety and the fact that you're nearly home... For me personally, there's one in particular that reminds me of my childhood, sa Farola, the lighthouse at the entrance to Ciutadella port. There’s a little beach next to it and some landings where we spent half our lives... I haven't drawn it in the calendar because it's the one that has appeared most often in my work, and I wanted to draw some of the others. -How did you approach the APB calendar and Christmas card assignment? What did you look for in each port? -I decided to do something different from anything I've done before. I started experimenting with a program called Procreate for digital illustration and found that it produced pretty good results. I've approached both the ports and the lighthouses like a set, a background landscape, giving centre stage to the characters and scenes, which, in turn, interact with the backdrop. Like a kind of self-nourishing cycle.

Port-city

The APB removes the barrier on Paseo de la Marina in the port of Ibiza and allows vehicles to park until March

28/11/2023

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) has decided to lift the access barrier to the Paseo de la Marina in the port of Ibiza to allow road traffic to pass through from 1st December until 1st March. This action is intended to facilitate mobility and parking in the area. Ibiza City Council has taken this initiative at the request of local residents and shopkeepers. Parking on the Paseo de la Marina will be allowed 24 hours a day, although from eight in the morning until ten at night it will be limited to a maximum of two hours in order to facilitate the rotation of vehicles. Drivers will be required to write down the time of parking on a piece of paper and display it clearly on their dashboard. The spaces set aside for loading and unloading will be preserved to facilitate commercial activity in the area. More parking zones An additional parking zone will also be set up over the same period of time on Avenida de Santa Eulària, next to the Ribera Poniente quay, and in front of the Formentera Maritime Station and the Ibiza Sailing Club, as had been established in previous years. However, this car park will not have a parking time limit. These two new zones will make parking more convenient for the city's residents and offer alternatives for parking in the city during the winter months.

Port-city

Agreement reached to reorganise construction work dates on Palma's seafront promenade to meet residents' and business owners' demands

24/11/2023

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and Palma City Council have reached an agreement with local groups who have been affected by Palma's promenade remodelling works to reschedule construction work dates to fall in line with residents' and business owners' demands. The most important change involves the relocation of the urban waste containers to the seaward side of the promenade. The different stakeholders received information at a meeting held this morning in the port of Palma. The president, Javier Sanz, was in attendance as well as the councillor for Urban Planning, Housing and Projects, Óscar Fidalgo, to announce how the works are progressing on schedule and that they will be completed at the beginning of 2025. Javier Sanz explained that an agreement has been reached to move the six banks of underground waste collection containers to the opposite side of the promenade. This decision came following requests from business and neighbourhood associations, who have agreed to do so to avoid any inconvenience to customers and passers-by on the land side of the promenade. Sanz defended this decision based on the APB's initial commitment to this project, which was launched with an innovative approach to stakeholder relations. Javier Sanz added, “We have three clear objectives in this strategy: to engage them in the project, to provide them with the appropriate information at each stage and to welcome and respond to their concerns and needs.” Stakeholders connected with Palma's Nou Passeig Marítim (New Promenade) project were selected according to the main sectors involved, which include residential, commerce, tourism, business and Palma's general public. As such, the main associations involved are ACOIPAM, CAEB, CAEB Restauración, ABONE, Federación de Asociaciones de vecinos de Palma (Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Palma), FEBT, Asociación de Vecinos del Paseo Marítimo (Association of Neighbours of the Promenade), ASHPAMA, AFEDECO, PIMECO, FEHM, AMTAT, AEVAB, PIMEM and APEAM. Previously completed work A major achievement over the first few months, and the least visible, is that 75% of the project's most costly installations have already been completed. These are EMAYA's main sewer mains and sewage and rainwater discharge networks. The Urban Planning Councillor, Óscar Fidalgo, thanked the municipal water company for its “diligence”. “We have stuck rigidly to the premise of listening to our neighbours in order to improve their lives,” he added. The APB covered the cost of private connections to the rainwater and sewage networks for shopkeepers, neighbours and hoteliers who have asked us to do so. Furthermore, this meeting announced that the first phase of the construction work is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2024, to avoid disruption during the Easter holidays and the start of the tourist season. At present, the pavements on the land side of the road are being laid in sections and based on each shop's requests for dates to avoid disrupting their business activities and to fit in with their closing and staff holiday schedules. A consensus has also been reached with shopkeepers on the type of sunshades and partitions for new terraces. In the coming weeks, the remaining furniture, such as chairs and tables, will be chosen to create a uniform style for the entire promenade. Finally, many requests for review and adaptation of terraces by shopkeepers and hoteliers have been dealt with, given the new distribution of terrace space by three square metre blocks. For more information, visit: noupasseigmaritimdepalma.portsdebalears.com

Port-city Transport and infrastructure

The APB is putting the shipyard adjacent to the fishing quay in the port of Ibiza out to tender for four years

22/11/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma, to put out to tender the concession to manage the shipyard adjacent to the fishing quay in the port of Ibiza, for a renewable period of four years and an exit fee of around 122,000 euros per year. The short duration of the concession is due to the planned rollout of the port's Special Plan, which envisages the relocation of this port activity to another quay. The APB's planning for this area of the port of Ibiza foresees an underground car park with some 700 parking spaces, the construction of the new maritime terminal for maritime traffic from Formentera, the remodelling of the nautical facilities currently occupied by the Club Náutico de Ibiza and the transfer of the fishing sector activity and the shipyard to the current Commercial Docks. In order to do this, the port's Special Plan must be approved, and Ibiza Town Council has assured the APB that it will make it a top priority and take all the necessary steps to restart the proceedings. The space subject to tender consists of nearly nine thousand square metres of public port domain destined for maintenance and repair work on boats. The duration of the concession also provides for the possibility of two extensions of one year each. Renewal denied At the same meeting yesterday, the APB's Board of Directors agreed to deny Tanit Ibiza Port, S.A. the nine-year extension requested to continue operating the shipyard, which it holds until 30 November 2023. The APB is processing a temporary occupation authorisation, which will allow the current company to continue operating until the new contract is awarded.

Port-city Transport and infrastructure

The APB will award Marina Deportiva Menorca the Colàrsega concession in the port of Mahon

22/11/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma, to propose the company Marina Deportiva Menorca, S.L., as the most advantageous solution in the public tender for the concession to manage the recreational moorings in the Colàrsega area of the port of Mahon. The decision will see the contract re-awarded to the company currently running the nautical facility, which guarantees mooring fees for small boats at subsidised prices. The tender specifications established an initial occupancy tax of 109,000 euros per year and an activity tax of 4% of turnover. In addition, Marina Deportiva Menorca proposed a fixed annual amount of 350,000 euros to supplement the occupancy and activity fees. The future concessionaire will invest more than six million euros in a part of the public port domain that covers more than 20,000 square metres of water surface, and will hold the contract for a period of 13 years.

Transport and infrastructure