Puertos del Estado and the Port Authority of Cartagena agree on the 2020-2024 Business Plan
The public-private investment will exceed €444 million
- In 2021 the first freight train could run on the Escombreras dock
16-10-2020 (Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda) The President of Puertos del Estado, Francisco Toledo, conducted a working meeting yesterday, via videoconference, with Yolanda Muñoz and Fermín Rol, President and Director, respectively, of the Port Authority of Cartagena, at which they agreed on the 2020-2024 Business Plan, a period in which more than 344 million euros will be invested, to which another 100 million euros will be added by a private initiative.
One of the main investments will be to deepen the Cartagena dock, an action that will involve an investment of 30 million euros. Regarding this work, the President of Puertos del Estado stated that "we need to speed up the environmental processing as much as possible in order to increase the engagement of container traffic."
Puertos del Estado will present its new Strategic Plan 2025 before the end of the year and will soon tackle the drafting of the "Plaza Mayor" project in the Cartagena dock to convert the seafront into an enclave for citizens and tourists.
Regarding traffic, Toledo congratulated Puertos del Estado because it is one of those that has developed the best, as there has been a decrease of only 2.7% in the year's accumulated traffic. As an example, we should mention that two out of every three lorries with agri-food bulk cargo destined for Castilla La Mancha have loaded up at the docks of the Cartagena Port Authority, being the second in the peninsula, after Tarragona, to move this type of goods.
The President emphasized in the meeting that Puertos del Estado has attended to all the requests of concessionaires in terms of reducing occupation rates by virtue of the provisions of the different Royal Decrees of Economic Reactivation due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Finally, Puertos del Estado announced that it is working with the various operators to inaugurate rail access to Escombreras, with the first freight train in 2021 and the logistical development of the port, thus becoming a competitive tool for companies.