The Port of Barcelona has taken a new step towards its growth after the Council of Ministers authorised the tendering of the contract for the construction of the first phase of the future Catalunya quay. Specifically, with an estimated value of 94.27 million euros, the project will delimit the enclosure boundary, a space of 44.7 hectares that will allow the generation of operating surfaces for the new quay in the south dock, opposite the El Prat quay.
The execution period for the project is 27 months and is part of the Delta Plan, with which the Barcelona Port Authority plans to create a large logistics area in the Llobregat delta that will require the adaptation of both the port and the airport. Container traffic will be concentrated on the new quay and most of the new railway infrastructures, particularly the future accesses, will be located there.
Growth in maritime freight traffic
In this way, the administrations are committed to boosting the infrastructures for the management of the maritime transport of goods, which during the first half of the year has once again experienced a significant increase in the Spanish ports: a total of 283,245,366 tonnes, which represents 3.4% more than in the same period of 2023.
The uncertain situation on international routes, especially due to the conflict in the Red Sea, and the strategic position of the Spanish ports, which also have solid infrastructures and offer good value for money in their services, are assets in their favour, which are especially reflected in a significant increase in TEU traffic (twenty-foot containers with a maximum load capacity of 33 cubic metres and 21,600 kg), which reached 9 million tonnes (12.4% more than in the first half of last year).
General cargo increased by 7.7% to almost 142 million tonnes, especially containerised cargo, which grew by 10.6%. In terms of type of products, all traffics increased except solid bulks (-11.1%), which is mainly explained by the slump in the coal market.
Significant increase at the Port of Barcelona
The Port of Barcelona is among those leading the growth in the first half of the year, with an accumulated traffic of almost 35 million tonnes, 10.3% more than in the first half of 2023. In terms of TEUs, they are close to two million tonnes, which increases the difference with respect to last year to 23.6%. If we look at the latest twelve months, freight traffic reaches 65,676,798 tonnes, 5.2% more than the 62.4 million recorded in 2023.
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