The APBA Board of Directors approves the content of the agreement to develop an infrastructure to manage heavy export traffic.
The new infrastructure will occupy more than 80,000 square meters of El Fresno and will have a planned investment of 5.2 million euros.
Fran González and Gerardo Landaluce highlight the importance of institutional collaboration to increase the competitiveness of the Algeciras port
The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA), held this Monday, November 9, has approved the content of the collaboration agreement with the Cádiz Free Trade Zone Consortium for the implementation of a new heavy export traffic terminal in the Bahía de Algeciras tax precinct, located in El Fresno, in the municipality of Los Barrios. The infrastructure will have a planned investment of 5.2 million euros and will allow the addition of new surfaces that absorb the growth of import/export traffic.
The agreement, which is scheduled to be signed in the coming weeks, contemplates the sublease by the Free Zone of three plots totaling an area of 80,266 square meters, in which the Port Authority will develop the so-called Heavy Traffic Export Terminal to the Port of Algeciras (TTP2EX), with capacity for 500 trucks.
The Free Trade Zone of Cádiz has these lands under lease with the Public Agency of Ports of Andalusia until the year 2068. These are three plots of 42,095, 27,331 and 10,840 square meters, respectively, whose commercialization had already been promoted by the Consortium to promote the implementation of business and logistics activity in the fiscal area. The new agreement will allow them to be allocated to this port infrastructure by subletting them to the APBA.
The operation is also included in the agenda of the Executive Committee of the Cádiz Free Zone convened for this week and will allow for a new logistical use of the land of the Bahía de Algeciras tax precinct.
The State delegate in the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz, Fran González, has highlighted that "after months working to convert the Bahía de Algeciras tax area into a space of opportunities, this agreement represents a very important step in our commitment to contribute to the improvement of the competitiveness of the business fabric. We are talking about putting more than 80,000 square meters at the service of a strategic infrastructure for the Port of Algeciras, with which we demonstrate that collaboration between institutions is essential to respond to the real needs of our productive fabric.”
González has also stressed that "from the Free Trade Zone we continue working to make our spaces useful tools to generate economic activity, attract investments and improve the competitiveness of our territory. This project is a good example of how we can take advantage of our resources to contribute to the growth of one of the great economic engines of the province and reinforce the role of the Port of Algeciras and its surroundings as a logistics enclave of international reference."
For his part, the president of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, Gerardo Landaluce, has highlighted the importance of this initiative "in a scenario that requires strengthening the available infrastructure and generating new spaces for the regulation, organization and management of heavy traffic, offering operators and transporters a safe, efficient environment adapted to the current regulatory framework." He recalled that the initiative is included in the milestones and goals of the APBA's 2030 Strategic Plan with vision 2040, approved this year, which has growth based on efficiency and improved competitiveness as one of its three strategic lines.
Landaluce has indicated that, before selecting the El Fresno site, the Port Authority evaluated up to 42 potential locations and analyzed 24 alternatives, until determining the suitability of this site due to its availability of land, proximity to the port and connections with the main communication routes.
An infrastructure to improve mobility and logistics activity
The future terminal will function as a multidisciplinary logistics area outside the port, intended for the parking and management of export trucks. It will have services for transporters and spaces to carry out customs procedures and controls, so that cargo units can go directly to the boarding areas once they access the port area.
The project contemplates the adaptation of the plots with highly durable concrete, 38-meter-long parking spaces capable of accommodating duo-trailers, accesses equipped with control systems and automatic license plate reading, closed-circuit television and high-efficiency LED lighting.
The facilities will also have a 600-square-meter service building, which will include toilets, changing rooms, a rest area and a store for transporters, as well as modules for logistics operators.
The action will provide spaces capable of absorbing demand peaks in heavy transport, improving operational fluidity and guaranteeing the security of goods under customs control. Likewise, it will contribute to strengthening the capacity of the Port of Algeciras to meet the growth in import and export traffic, both containerized cargo and ro-ro traffic on the Algeciras-Tangier Med line, in accordance with the forecasts of its Strategic Plan.
The Port Authority of Algeciras will assume the execution of the project, with a planned investment of 5.2 million euros, as well as the necessary actions for the commissioning of the facilities and their subsequent maintenance and operation. For its part, the Cádiz Free Trade Zone will be responsible for building a second northern access door to the tax area, which will contribute to facilitating mobility and connection of the facilities.
The agreement establishes an initial duration of 30 years, with the possibility of extensions for periods of three years, and a sublease amount of 963,000 euros per year, financed with the Port Land Accessibility Fund. This formula will allow the Port Authority to have the necessary land to develop a strategic logistics infrastructure, while the Free Zone guarantees the use of its real estate assets and the obtaining of long-term capital income.
A strategic enclave for logistics and business activity
The Bahía de Algeciras tax facility, located in the El Fresno area, in Los Barrios, is part of the Andalusian Logistics Network and constitutes one of the main projects developed by the Cádiz Free Trade Zone to reinforce the economic and logistical activity linked to the Port of Algeciras.
Its creation, contemplated in the Comprehensive Plan of the Government of Spain for the region of 2018, received the definitive support of the Ministry of Finance on October 1, 2019, with the publication of the order that authorized its constitution as a free zone.
The adaptation works began in 2021 and its main actions were completed in August 2022, after an investment of 2.5 million euros. At the end of that year, the agreement was formalized with the Civil Guard to guarantee the surveillance and protection of the facilities, thus advancing the necessary procedures for its implementation during 2023.
The site is located about three kilometers from the Port of Algeciras and has connections with the A-7 and A-381 highways, which link with the northern access to the port through the N-357. It has advanced surveillance and access control systems and offers the tax and customs advantages of its status as a free zone for companies linked to foreign trade and logistics activity.