Public investment in Spanish ports will exceed €1,200 million in 2021

Toledo asks Plataforma de Inversores en Puertos Españoles (PIPE) to follow in the wake of Puertos del Estado and MITMA and increase private investment in ports - September 17, 2020 Likewise, it is committed to the selective reduction of rates in those Port Authorities whose economic results can allow it. The country needs a powerful productive investment plan that injects resources to activate the economy, that creates jobs while they are being developed and that boosts economic growth once they are completed. This is why the Spanish Government, as Minister José Luis Ábalos has announced, is working on an ambitious reconstruction plan, focusing on digitalisation, security, decarbonisation, sustainability and land connectivity, in which ports will contribute €4.7 billion over four years (2021-2024). This important public investment in the ports, which will exceed €1.2 billion in 2021 (almost doubling the €656 million expected in 2020), needs to be complemented by private investment to gain effectiveness in the economic reactivation of the country and to improve the competitiveness of the Spanish ports so that they can take advantage of the wave of growth once the COVID-19 has been surpassed. The President of Puertos del Estado, Francisco Toledo, has asked the Platform of Investors in Spanish Ports (PIPE) to follow the trail of MITMA and invest without fear to make the reactivation more vigorous, as its contribution is essential for the good functioning of the public-private collaboration, which has given such good results in the development of port infrastructures. He also asked them to send to the State Ports the plan for private investments which they are planning for the next four years in order to complete the reconstruction scenario. He assured them that the ports are a good investment for the future and that they have shown their strength during the COVID crisis by being essential for the functioning of the country. With regard to the request for a reduction in fees demanded by PIPE, Toledo assured that this is an issue that must be studied very carefully because a generalised reduction could unbalance the accounts of many Port Authorities. "It must be taken into account that 89% of the benefits of the port system come from only nine port authorities, whilst the remaining 19 contribute 11%". Toledo is committed to a selective reduction in those Port Authorities whose economic results can allow it and, as we have been working on the business plans, it will be seen in the draft of the state budget that various ports are committed to this. On the other hand, Toledo has shared with PIPE the draft of the Strategic Framework of the port system, which focused on the need for the Spanish port system of general interest to be at the forefront of environmental protection worldwide. Furthermore, at the meeting held in Santander, it was advanced that the strategic development model must be sustainable in its triple dimension: environmental, economic and social. In this sense, all the strategic lines will be linked to the 17 ODS, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The Spanish ports must continue to commit themselves to digitalisation, to synchro-modality and to environmental commitment. The need for port infrastructures to be demand-oriented, reliable, connected and sustainable was also noted. Therefore, railway connections, electrification of quays to provide electric power to ships during their stay in port, energy self-sufficiency with renewable energies, improvement in energy efficiency and reduction of the carbon footprint will be promoted. Puertos del Estado is a state-owned organisation responsible for the management of state-owned ports. The company executes the port policy of the government and coordinates and controls the efficiency of the port system, made up of 28 port authorities that manage the 46 ports of general interest. Source: Puertos del Estado

Public investment in Spanish ports will exceed €1,200 million in 2021

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Public investment in Spanish ports will exceed €1,200 million in 2021

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All news

New Caspian ferry line Turkmenbashi-Olya might finally launch

Kazakhstan’s ports handled 6.2 mln tonnes of cargo in Jan-Oct’24

DFDS bought Ekol Logistics at the end

Two cocaine shipments, 720 kg and 720 kg, seized in Vlissingen port

Malta sees reduced cruise ship passengers in Q3 2024

Our Expert Analysis

Latest Free Reads

Top Ports