The Port of Tarragona explains its strategic projects to the president of the State Ports Authority

Ornella Chacón highlighted the consolidated and specialised economic activity of the Port of Tarragona

The president of the Port of Tarragona, Josep Maria Cruset, confirmed that work on the Balears Wharf is on track for receiving cruise ships in 2021

The president of the State Ports Authority, Ornella Chacón, this week made her first visit to the Port of Tarragona. The most senior representative of the Spanish port system, accompanied by the director of Planning and Development for the State Ports Authority, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, were welcomed by the president of the Port of Tarragona, Josep Maria Cruset.

The visit began on Wednesday 9 January with the arrival of the president at the offices of the Port of Tarragona, where an initial working meeting was held. Today, Thursday 10, Ornella Chacón chaired the latest edition of the 'Bon Dia Tarragona' series of conferences organised by the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce, in which the senior representative of the State Ports Authority explained the desire to renew the current strategic port framework.

At the end of the conference, Ornella Chacón and Josep Maria Cruset returned to the Port of Tarragona for a meeting with the Port’s executive committee and representatives and businesspersons from the port community. Immediately following that they toured the Port’s industrial facilities and the public areas, including the Costa Wharf and the emblematic El Serrallo fishing quarter, both outstanding examples of the Port of Tarragona’s involvement with the city.

During the meeting with the president of the State Ports Authority, Mr Cruset confirmed Tarragona’s commitment to the cruise ship sector. The Port of Tarragona’s president reiterated that the plan for the new Balears Wharf was being drawn up and that in 3 or 4 months it will be sent to the State Ports Authority for approval, after which tenders will be invited for the project. It is planned for the work to be completed by mid-2021. The Balears Wharf will be a multifunctional dock that, until the Els Prats breakwater becomes available, will be used to moor cruise ships.

During her visit, Ornella Chacón also had the opportunity to get to know at first hand the concerns and future challenges of the Tarragona port community, assuring those involved that "the Port of Tarragona has a well-consolidated and highly specialised economic activity that makes it a very important part of the Spanish port system". In this respect, the president of the State Ports Authority praised the ability of the Port of Tarragona to "constantly adapt to the changes in the market and for its enviable geostrategic situation" in the Mediterranean.