News APB | Ports de Balears

The tender for ideas of Cala Figuera at the Port of Mahon gets the green light

28/02/2018

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has approved the specifications of the ideas tender for preliminary projects regarding development and urban planning activities at Cala Figuera, Port of Mahon. The aim of this tender is to select preliminary project proposals for the development, urban planning and definition of infrastructures and superstructures of the port area of Cala Figuera, which, according to the Delimitation of Port Spaces and Uses (DEUP), is intended for nautical, sporting and additional facilities for the port and city. This preliminary project will be used for a future tender process for the use and execution concession of the winning proposal. This ideas tender meets the requirements of the Port of Mahon to have a creation nerve point of economic activity relating to recreational boating. As such, the construction of small and large size moorings at Cala Figuera is envisaged. This project, along with the future boat repair yard at Cós Nou, will serve as a trigger for recreational boating at the port. This initiative is in line with the Port of Mahon Action Plan that the APB launched with the administrations and other local entities at the beginning of this parliamentary term. The specifications were approved yesterday after agreement was reached between the APB and the Official Association of Architects of Menorca.

APB to equip the Port of Mahon with 154 new moorings for recreational boats

15/02/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) will begin the building works on 5 jetties at the Poniente dock at the port of Mahon in order to install 154 new moorings for recreational boats. The works have a budget of €416,000 and the company awarded the contract is the joint venture made up of Estructuras Condal, Ciomar and Antonio Gomila. The project consists of installing the 5 jetties that will offer water and electricity supply services to 154 moorings, 5 of which will be designated for boats that are 15 metres long, 44 for those that are 12 metres long, 17 for those that are 10 metres long and 78 moorings for boats up to 8 metres long. In addition, there will be 10 moorings designated for repair shops: 5 for boats up to 10 metres long and 5 for those up to 12 metres long. When allocating these 154 moorings, consideration is being given to prioritising any recreational boats with expired mooring permits. With these works, the APB aims to reorganise and improve the offering of moorings for recreational boats at the Port of Mahon and, above all, respond to the requests for mooring points directly managed at this port. The manager of these moorings will be the winner of the tender put out for this purpose, which will be announced when the Board of Directors of the APB chooses the most beneficial proposal in the meeting scheduled for the end of February.

The APB to put the Botafoc Harbour Station works at the Port of Ibiza out to tender next June

14/02/2018

Joan Gual de Torrella, president of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), has announced that a tender process for the construction works of the new Botafoc Harbour Station at the Port of Ibiza is to be launched in June. It is expected that the construction of the new building, which has an estimated budget of 9.6 million euros, could begin towards the end of this year, during the low season so as to interfere as little as possible with the island, residents and the visitors. The new building, covering a surface area of 5,800 m2, will have all of the services required to meet the needs of passengers, making the compliance of safety and accessibility measures top priority. It will offer its users extensive waiting room areas, as well as separate boarding and disembarkation areas, and all the amenities needed to ensure that passengers receive the comfort sought. It will be a three-floor building. The passenger ticket desk at the station harbour, as well as the access gate and exit, will be located on the 4,400-m2 ground floor. The first floor, covering 700 m2, will be used for offices, while passenger boarding and disembarkation will take place on the second floor, which also covers 700 m2. The building will be eight metres high and will not exceed the current height of the boarding and disembarkation walkways in order to reduce the visual impact. Joan Gual said he was happy about the commencement of the works because: "they form part of the commitments that the Port Authority is undertaking with the Council of Ibiza, while also being a commitment to passengers." The APB president has confirmed that the Port of Ibiza needed worthy, safe and comfortable facilities that were on par with its growth and passenger influx, almost a million per year. Gual made the declarations at the Club Naútico of Ibiza during the 'Balance and Future of the Port of Ibiza Conference', where the most significant actions of the APB and the next steps it is to undertake at the port, such as the construction of the Harbour Station, were discussed. Rafael Ruiz, Mayor of Ibiza, and Joan Marí, the president of the Club Náutico of Ibiza, both attended the event. Energy saving and the use of plant materials in the construction will be considered in the project. The project won an ideas competition, the jury of which comprised the Council of Ibiza, the Business Association of Entrepreneurs of Maritime Activities on the Balearic Islands, the Association of Architects, the Association of Civil Engineers of the Balearic Islands and the APB. Finally, the project that will be put out to tender has received the approval of the Town Planning Department of the Council of Ibiza.

The APB is to build an underground car park at the Lonja Dock at the Port of Palma

12/02/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) is to build a public underground car park, consisting of up to 460 spaces, at the Lonja dock at the Port of Palma. With this infrastructure, the APB will eliminate around 150 of the existing aboveground parking spaces and it will spruce up the area, converting it into a car-free zone with garden areas for pedestrians. In a meeting held on 31 January, the Board of Directors of the APB approved the rule and clause specifications that are to govern the public tender for the construction and management of the car park during a maximum term of 50 years. Tenderers will have to improve on the annual usage fee amount of €156,052, without VAT. The surface area under the tender covers the space between the head office of the APB and the concession currently held by the Pesquero restaurant at the Port of Palma. The project is to entail the creation of a car park under the phreatic level, envisage the creation of garden areas on the surface and to maintain the current access points at the dock in a similar condition as they are currently in. The planned car park must have one level (with a capacity for around 230 vehicles), but tenderers may suggest a two-level project that could amount to a total of 460 spaces. Tenderers are to propose the number and dimensions of the parking spaces, as well as their distribution. Spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility must also be considered in the project. The investment estimated by the APB, which is to be undertaken by the future concessionaire, ranges from between 9.5 to 21.8 million euros, depending on whether one or two levels are built. Open to the public Two types of user will be able to access the new public car park. Pass holders –regular employees, employees of adjacent businesses, customers or port workers–, who will have access to it with rates suiting their needs and working hours. These spaces should account for 20% of the total number, according to the tender specifications. The other type of user is the general public. These spaces will be under a rotation system, with neither reservation nor preferential rights of any kind. With the sprucing up of the area and the envisaged demolition of two obsolete buildings at Contramuelle-Mollet that do not relate to any port use, the incorporation of the port into the city is further aided, continuing the reform that the APB has already started at the Viejo Dock, which connects this area of the Port of Palma with the Antonio Maura promenade. The works are just one line of action carried out by the Port Authority in its recent activities at all of its ports. The authority also seeks to help the port integrate into the city.

The ports managed by APB record 15.4 million tonnes of freight in 2017

06/02/2018

The freight traffic statistics for the ports of general interest in the Balearic Islands indicate that 15.4 million tonnes passed through the 5 ports managed by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) in 2017. All of the ports have experienced an increase in traffic volume except for Mahon, which was down 3% on 2016. The ports of Alcudia and La Savina have seen the biggest increase in traffic, up 17% and 7%, respectively. The ports of Palma and Ibiza have also seen an increase, up 4% and 3%, respectively. The figures reported relating to the general goods traffic (referring to consumer goods), indicate that 12.2 million tonnes passed through the 5 ports of general interest in the Balearic Islands in 2017, up 6% on 2016. Alcudia increased by 18%, La Savina 8%, Ibiza 6% and Palma 5%. Mahon is once again the only port that did not see any growth, showing a 9% reduction in its traffic volume with regard to 2016. Referring to solid bulk cargo only (coal, grain, salt and construction materials, etc.), the records indicate that Mahon and Alcudia increased their traffic volume by 60% and 17%, respectively, while Palma, Ibiza and La Savina saw a 30%, 26% and 16%, respectively, reduction in these materials in comparison with the previous financial year. As regards liquid bulk cargo (fuel), the records indicate an increase in traffic volume at the ports of Alcudia (11%), Mahon (9%) and Palma (1%), and a 6% fall at the Port of Ibiza. Lastly, in 2017, the number of passengers at the ports managed by the APB was 8.2 million, up 6% on the figure registered in the previous financial year. Of those passengers, 2.1 million were on cruise ships, up 9% on 2016. All of the ports saw an increase in this area. The Port of Mahon saw the biggest increase (26%), corresponding to a 60% increase in the arrival of cruise passengers in 2017, followed by Alcudia (23%), Ibiza (6%) -which also saw a significant increase of 35% in cruise passengers-, Palma (5%) and La Savina (3%). Further statistical information

The APB set to adapt the Port of El Molinar, retaining its current dimensions and facilitating its integration into the city

02/02/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) will update the El Molinar facilities at the Port of Palma whilst preserving its current dimensions, with the same water surface area and the same breakwater. Likewise, it is expected that the number of mooring points and type of existing boats will remain the same. This will help prevent the intensity of port use from rising, and therefore the accessibility and mobility problems that could otherwise be caused in the neighbourhood. The new El Molinar port project was revealed to the public yesterday during the conference held at the Palau de Congressos de Palma under the slogan "The future of sailing clubs in the Balearic Islands. The continuity of concessions at Ports of General Interest". According to the APB's head of infrastructure, Antoni Ginard, the main objectives of the new project include incorporating the El Molinar port as a transit area, offering citizens new landscape perspectives by constructing rock facing that will function as an observation point, and taking one step further towards the APB strategy by integrating ports in cities and engaging citizens in various leisure possibilities that the ports can offer. Another important strand of this project focuses on investment in maritime security infrastructure, with low or practically zero environmental impact and at a reasonable financial cost, providing the port with the security constantly sought by the port body in all of its actions. Lastly, this reform project covers the social element of this port, promoting the practice of and training in water sports activities such as sailing, which should remain one of the main assets of any sailing club. The project was developed by the team comprising MCVALNERA and Junquera Arquitectos, with internationally renowned engineers and architects as members. The port infrastructure has an estimated investment budget of three million euros, which will be covered by the APB. Following its input, the APB intends for a social sailing club to take over the management of the mooring points.

The APB has put out to tender the management of mooring points in the d’en Reynés boatyard at the Port of Mahon

31/01/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Island (APB) has put out to public tender the management of mooring points in the area of the d’en Reynés boatyard in the Levante dock at the Port of Mahon. The aim of this tender is to grant temporary authorisation to manage a total water surface area of 10,900 square metres and 224 metres of dock line. The APB will select the most advantageous solution, granting administrative approval to the bidder to manage this surface area for a one-year period, where the Mahon Maritime Club currently manages 48 mooring points measuring between 8 and 30 metres in length. The contract will entail the occupancy permit for mooring recreational boats, as well as their management, water supply, power supply, telephony and data retransmission, rubbish and waste collection, and any other services to be proposed by the bidder. More information on the Public Domain bulletin board on the APB website.

69% of mooring request renewals at the ports of general interest are processed electronically

31/01/2018

At the close of the January renewal period, it can be seen that 68.7 per cent of mooring requests directly managed by the ports of Palma, Alcudia, Mahon and Ibiza were made through the website of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB). It is a symptom of the good health of this platform and the predisposition of users to use innovative and more operational systems such as this tool that makes the port authority available to citizens. In total, 801 requests were renewed through the website. The port that carried out most electronic renewals was Alcudia (85%), followed by that of Palma (72%) and Mahon (48%). At the port of Ibiza, no online renewals were made, with all of them being processed in person. Another important fact is the general reduction in waiting lists. In Palma, it has decreased by 5.5% with 808 requests this January compared to the 855 from last year and in Alcudia, it has decreased by 6.25% with 75 requests compared to 80 in January 2017. In Mahon, it has decreased by 20.7% with 115 requests on the list this January and by 15.3% in Ibiza with 11 requests. One of the reasons for these reductions is the fact that mooring requests that are not in line with the current requirements which stipulate, among other requirements, that vessels must be shorter than 8 metres in length, have been removed from the waiting lists. The mooring renewal period in the ports of general interest opens twice a year (from 1 to 15 January and from 1 to 15 July). As usual, and with the aim of promoting transparency in public bodies, the APB has published the updated lists on its website. You can see this information by clicking here.

The APB publicly presents the future of sailing clubs at Ports of General Interest on the Balearic Islands

25/01/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) will reveal the current situation and foreseeable future of the sailing clubs located at the ports of general interest on the islands by organising a conference open to the public. The event, under the slogan "The future of sailing clubs in the Balearic Islands. The continuity of concessions at Ports of General Interest", will welcome speakers who will assess the legal framework under which social sailing falls within the state port model and present proposals for improvements to the El Molinar facilities at the Port of Palma. For the president of the APB, Joan Gual de Torrella, public access to social sailing must be essential in a community that is so closely linked to the sea such as the Balearic Islands. In this regard, the president of the APB believes that "the clubs play a key role in the maritime sector, which is an important driver in the generation of wealth. And as a reward for this social endeavour is the reason for which its continuity at our ports is justified", says Gual. On 1 February at 19:30 in the Palau de Congressos de Palma, Joan Gual de Torrella will be joined by the head of the Legal Department of State Ports, José Antonio Morillo-Velarde del Peso, who will discuss the current legal framework of the term extensions of sailing clubs in Spain. In addition, consultant Gabriel Sandoval Sarrias will share his vision of how the new management model of marinas facilitates the integration between ports and cities. Representing the APB, its head of Port Operation, Armando Parada González, will go over the current situation and immediate future of sailing clubs operating in the public port domain of the Balearic Islands. Lastly, the head of infrastructure, Antonio Ginard López, will unveil the future port of El Molinar, which combines improvements in functionality with greater port-city integration.

The APB starts work on the direct management berths at Portitxol

23/01/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has started the replacement and improvement works on the foundations of the dock pontoons. The project entails the replacement of six pontoons that were in a bad condition and could have collapsed, for new reinforced-concrete slabs, specifically designed for current environmental conditions. The works, which are underway on two of the pontoons, – F and G– involve demolishing the current slabs and replacing them with new reinforced-concrete ones. Other berth elements will be adapted and water and electricity installations will be installed. The works will be completed with the placement of anchorage equipment. Owners will have their boats temporarily moved to another berth allocated by the APB during the period of time set for each improvement. As the dock is gradually renovated, the APB will reorganise the public berths at Portitxol, given that pontoons B, C, D and E also need to be taken apart and rebuilt. The works started in January and will continue until September. The aim of the APB is to give users of these berths a renovated and up-to-date infrastructure for their boats, improving the quality of the service provided by the port authority. The project, with an investment of 600,000 euros and a timeframe of eight and a half months, was awarded to the company Route Pont, S.L., for 523,763.00 euros.

The APB carries out marine pollution containment drill at the Port of La Savina

19/01/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has today carried out a drill on the containment of marine pollution in the zone 1 sheltered waters at the Port of La Savina. The exercise consisted of simulating a hypothetical oil spill from a tanker at the commercial quay, where the petrol station at this port is located. In order to contain this spill, a 150-metre barrier against marine pollution was placed, which the APB expressly purchased for this port. Taking part in the drill—besides the APB—were the Firefighters of Formentera Island Council and also the managers of Marina Formentera, a company that has an agreement with the port authority stating that, in the event of any incident at this port, they will intervene with a vessel and the necessary staff to tackle it. Also participating in the exercise were the Port Police of the Port of Ibiza, along with other external clean-up companies who came along as observers. This drill forms part of the training exercises of the Formentera Firefighters set out in the agreement signed between the APB and Formentera Island Council with regards to training the firefighters to act in cases of emergency, as well as ensuring they have the necessary equipment to keep Formentera residents and visitors safe. Therefore, the APB has now put out a tender to acquire, in addition to different absorbent materials,150 metres of absorbent barrier and a portable pool to place the contaminated material at each of the 5 ports of interest that it manages. A step forward in the public body's clear commitment to safety and prevention.

Refurbishment works complete on the Torreón de Paraires in the Port of Palma

10/01/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has completed the improvement and refurbishment works on the Torreón de Paraires tower in the Port of Palma. The project consisted of rebuilding the internal and external structure of the Paraires turret, which was in a poor condition, in order to recover a heritage asset in the Port of Palma. The works, which were completed in seven months, consisted of, among other things, demolishing the wall blocking the entrance, cleaning and clearing out the inside of the tower, as well as building the frames and pre-frames of the existing wooden windows and chipping off the plaster on the inner walls until reaching the original base in order to then line it. The project also included restoration and stonework, locksmithing, lining work and waterproofing, as well as adding a water collector to prevent flooding. The investment amounted to 101,000 euros and the company that secured the contract was Llabrés Feliu. This project provided work for an average of 4 people for 6 months. This tower was originally used by a house built nearby, which no longer exists, to access the sea. The users reached the tower via a walkway and used it to reach the rocks where there was a small quay, where they could bathe in the water and moor small boats. The APB preserves this building due to its interesting and iconic nature.