Welcome to the Port of Tarragona, a Mediterranean port that faces great challenges and generates great opportunities thanks to its strategic location, its vision of the future and a development strategy based on efficiency, sustainability, innovation and territorial and social cohesion, driven by an involved professional team and a motivated port community.
Port Tarragona aims to be a promoter of economic sustainability, not only in order to become more efficient and competitive, but also to accompany and lead its hinterland in the necessary decarbonisation of logistics and the economy in general. Because only those organisations that commit today to decarbonisation will be the most competitive in the new sustainable economy of tomorrow.
At Port Tarragona we work on strategic projects from a sustainable perspective. Projects already underway, such as the ZAL, which represents a 20% increase in the current surface area of the Port, a 92-hectare area for logistics activities related to maritime traffic with added value; an urban development that will have a rainwater separation network with pre-treatment and purification of the first rainwater, and the implementation of actions based on energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies. Another example is the future construction of the Ponent breakwater, an unprecedented project in the history of large infrastructures in terms of protection of the natural environment and landscape integration. And in the move towards decarbonisation, Port Tarragona is making a clear commitment to the transport of goods by rail, with the development of PortTarragona Terminal Guadalajara-Marchamalo, the dry port closest to the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and the expansion and modernisation of PortTarragona Terminal La Boella, a high-capacity dockside intermodal base connected to the Mediterranean corridor.
We believe Port Tarragona should be an example and a main actor in the implementation of decarbonisation strategies. It will do this through economic transition and environmental sustainability actions, while reinforcing measures for the preservation and recovery of the natural environment, emphasising green energy generation and enhancing air and water quality monitoring in port zones. We are therefore prioritising the creation of a port energy community; the electrification of the docks; increasing the generation of photovoltaic energy; promoting a more sustainable cruise activity; and cooperating with the Green Hydrogen Valley, etc.
We also aim to promote the blue economy through the recruitment of talent, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Port of Tarragona will be an institution ahead of its time in the areas in which the territory is strong and in the implementation of technological advances to develop the regional economy and enhance the quality of life of its inhabitants. The Port is an ideal partner for the promotion of digitalisation, business creation, the development of social urbanism and the production of knowledge through cooperative research projects with universities and professional centres. Neither will we take our eye off the ball when it come to innovating in the field of risk prevention, safety, emergency management and cyber security, in which we are already a port of reference thanks to multiple quality certifications.
Our port works as an active agent for the generation of metropolitan dynamics in the Camp de Tarragona region in key aspects such as the economy, urban planning, communications and transport. It is creating the synergies our territory needs to be more competitive and more sustainable. We are a region with enormous potential (business fabric, a university, talent, entrepreneurship, communications, climate, etc.). We must be able to take advantage of this in metropolitan terms (i.e., consensus, cohesion and cooperation) to improve our development as an economy and as a society.
With these four action focuses, we are configuring a smart-green port aligned with the needs our society demands for today and tomorrow. We are working towards a green, competitive, efficient Port of Tarragona.
Saül Garreta Puig
President of Port Tarragona