The City Council and the Port of Barcelona sign an agreement to develop the Blue Economy as a strategic sector for the future

Barcelona City Council will promote a Blue Economy strategy - a sustainable economy linked to water and the sea - as one of the priority and future sectors for the economic revitalisation of the city, as has been advanced in the framework of Barcelona reAct, the working sessions to revitalise the post-Covid economy - April 16, 2021 Barcelona City Council and the Port of Barcelona have today signed a strategic collaboration agreement for the definition and implementation of the strategy to promote the Blue Economy led by the city, for the co-leadership of some of the key projects being developed within the port area, to jointly contribute to the promotion of the Blue Economy in the city, as well as the global positioning of Barcelona and its port in this field. The Port of Barcelona has thus become the first actor to sign a collaboration agreement with the City Council on the Blue Economy in the city. This first agreement exemplifies shared governance and the search for projects that, through public-private collaboration, can give a boost to the Blue Economy and position the city. In addition, the agreement aims to create a space for sharing projects, promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, talent and training. The First Deputy Mayor for Economy, Employment, Competitiveness and Finance, Jaume Collboni, stressed that "being a city with a seafront implies a competitive advantage over other cities, in terms of quality of life, range of activities, diversity of products and geostrategic positioning. Barcelona has overcome the phase of living with its back to the sea and now it is up to us to combine the aspects of economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability to open up to the sea, in terms of citizenship, urban planning, sport and the visitor economy". With the aim of making it a strategy worked with the city's ecosystem, Barcelona Activa has consulted more than thirty social and economic actors from the different sectors included in the Blue Economy, from port activity and logistics, to maritime transport, fishing and marketing of marine products, blue tourism, ship repair and nautical activities, or transversal facilitators such as research, training, education or maritime culture. Mercè Conesa, President of the Port of Barcelona, explained that this infrastructure is working to "become a unique platform where start-ups, technology companies, the academic world and the maritime-port sector can develop new economic activity in the field of the Blue Economy. We are committed to the Blue District, where this activity will be concentrated, becoming a business hub that operates under criteria of sustainability, openness, collaboration and technology, and that is capable of attracting talent, entrepreneurship and innovation". The President of the Port of Barcelona explained that these projects will facilitate the creation of new quality jobs and highlighted "the collaborative spirit of the agreement we are signing today to promote the Blue Economy, an agreement that facilitates co-leadership and the alignment of the different institutions with no common objectives". Conesa ended his speech by assuring that "the City Council and the Port of Barcelona, together with the other institutions and groups involved, must continue to work together to lead growth and improve the well-being of our citizens". Blue Economy, a sector of the future The Blue Economy - a sustainable economy linked to water and the sea - is a very broad strategic sector that includes activities such as logistics (port); fishing; industry (shipbuilders); sport (leisure, health and culture); energy, science and technology linked to the sea and the oceans but always governed by sustainability. The European Union accounts for between 3.5% and 7% of global GDP, and the economic value of sea-related activities in the Mediterranean region is around 400 billion euros per year. Barcelona has 16.67km of coastline and the Mediterranean has been, and is, a great asset for its economic development: logistics and port activities, maritime transport, fishing, ship repair, nautical activities, blue tourism, and other transversal facilitators such as research, training, education and maritime culture, among others. It has 4 ports: Barcelona (10th European port in terms of container volume, 4.5M passengers and 66M tonnes of goods), the Olímpic, the Vell and the Fòrum); it generates significant economic activity and has assets such as maritime research areas (UPC, UAB) and a recognised entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. Source: Autoritat Portuària de Barcelona (APB - Port Authority of Barcelona)

The City Council and the Port of Barcelona sign an agreement to develop the Blue Economy as a strategic sector for the future

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The City Council and the Port of Barcelona sign an agreement to develop the Blue Economy as a strategic sector for the future

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All news

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