Aurelio Martínez: “We must bet on Valenciaport as the driving industry of our economy”

The president of Valenciaport and the Government Commissioner for the Mediterranean Corridor have participated in the cycle of conferences on Mobility and international trade in a disruptive world of the Demetrio Ribes Chair- September 18, 2020 The president of Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia (APV - Valenciaport, Port Authority of Valencia), Aurelio Martínez has affirmed that “the great industry of the Valencian Community is logistics for all of Spain, and within it, Valenciaport plays a role of reference. For this reason, we must bet on the growth of the port so that logistics continue to be the great tractor industry of our economy”. Martínez pointed out that "economies need these driving companies, which on a world scale are the biotechnology, pharmacy, renewable energy, new materials, and logistics industries that have Valenciaport as a strategic centre in Spain". He has participated in the cycle of conferences organized by the Demetrio Ribes Chair of the University of València (Universitat de València) with the presentation The future of port logistics in the post-Covid-19 era within the framework of the Mobility and international trade cycle in a Disruptive world in which the Government Commissioner for the Mediterranean Corridor, Josep Vicent Boira, has also intervened with The future of the railway world in the post-Covid-19 era . During his presentation, the APV president explained that the world economic situation is producing and accelerating both horizontal and vertical business concentration processes, which also implies cargo concentration and that there are fewer and fewer hub ports. "This implies that we have to be in the first division to be benchmarks and competitive by betting on new infrastructures, especially railways that are very flexible and competitive. Valenciaport is well positioned due to its current size and due to the expansion projects it has, which will allow us to maintain the leading position in Europe. If we do not continue to improve our facilities, someone else will and economic activity will go elsewhere”, he emphasised. The president pointed out that in the Valencian Community "we already have a tractor industry, the port, let's bet on it, and on multimodality and support for the large hubs currently operating." Along these lines, Martínez has valued the expansion plans of Valenciaport that go through "the railway, the motorways of the sea, respect for the environment, digitization or automation of processes", fundamental objectives to continue being a benchmark in the great trade routes. In this sense, it has indicated that "to remain competitive as a port hub we need the best rail connection." The strategic maritime sector In his presentation, Martínez reviewed the maritime traffic data and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic where recovery of traffic is observed in the third quarter and the reduction of the idle fleet to 2019 levels. During this period, shipping companies have adjusted their offer to the fall in demand and a greater concentration that will also affect loading and unloading operations in few hub ports on the large maritime routes. For the PAV president, “from a recent historical perspective, the growth of the world's GDP has been based on international trade and this has used the container. Maritime traffic accounts for 90% of international trade”. Aurelio Martínez recalled that maritime transport is the "most efficient means, whatever the variables used such as energy expenditure per MT and km, volume, environmental sustainability or safety, among others." Martínez has pointed out with respect to the traffic of Valenciaport that since the end of May export traffic and imports have not grown so much because consumption is stagnant. In addition, he pointed out that the percentage of boats stopped in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis was 10%, a figure that in the last two months has dropped to 3%. "These data are a sample of the recovery of world maritime traffic", he stressed. In the coming years, trade flows will continue to grow although at lower rates, so the role of logistics will continue to be key. For this reason, we have to prepare ourselves to continue being a strategic place of reference ”. For his part, Josep Vicent Boira has indicated that “Spain has two great challenges, climate change and dependence on the global chain, which can be overcome by the increase in rail transport. The ports must have better rail connections and ramps for 750-metre trains”. For Boira, "we have to invest in infrastructures with greater added value, build a roadmap for the ecological transition in transport and set a goal to increase the use of rail for freight transport". Source: Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia (APV - Valenciaport, Port Authority of Valencia)

Aurelio Martínez: “We must bet on Valenciaport as the driving industry of our economy”

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Aurelio Martínez: “We must bet on Valenciaport as the driving industry of our economy”

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All news

China, Kazakhstan and Hungary to build inter-modal cargo terminal in Budapest

Shrinking Caspian – stranded ports, half empty ships

Railway ready to serve Lavna coal terminal in Murmansk

Russian ports to handle 5.3 mln TEUs in 2024, still below 2021 result

Uniontrasporti presents cost benefit analysis for Messina bridge project

Our Expert Analysis

Latest Free Reads

Top Ports