The President of Ports of the State visits the Port of Vilagarcía de Arousa
Rodríguez Dapena meets with the president, advisors, the management team of the Port Authority, and representatives of the Port Community.
March 28, 2022. The President of Ports of the State, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, visited the Vilagarcía Port Authority today, where, accompanied by the president, José Manuel Cores Tourís, he toured the port facilities and learned about the future projects of this entity.
Previously, the President of Ports of the State held meetings at the headquarters of the Arousa port with the management team of the Port Authority and a representation of its employee committee; with the Board of Directors of the Port Authority; and with the Port Community. During his visit to the headquarters of the Port Authority, Rodríguez Dapena also signed the Honor Book of the institution.
In the meeting with the management team of the Port Authority, the main projects that the Vilagarcía port is currently working on were analyzed. Among them, the President of the Port Authority, José Manuel Cores Tourís, highlighted the great commitment of the Vilagarcía port to provide optimal facilities for maritime-rail intermodality. Thus, it is intended to complement the actions already taken in this area with a third phase of the Ferrazo Railway project, with an investment of 1.4 million euros and which is expected to be tendered this year. This work is financed with funds from the Mechanism for Recovery and Resilience (MRR).
The President of the Port Authority also mentioned the opportunities that the celebration of this Holy Year presents for the port of Vilagarcía, in its condition as a Xacobeo port, to promote tourism in Arousa. He highlighted the commitment that the Arousa port is making to improve its positioning as a cruise destination, which is already yielding its first results.
The integration of the port with the city was another of the issues addressed in this meeting. Rodríguez Dapena was able to learn about the plans of the Port Authority to expand the area of port land for public use, in areas coinciding with the maritime facade of the city. Thus, in the O Ramal dock (located between the beach and the marina), the full opening of its initial section to public use is planned, and the creation of an area for receiving cruises in its final section. This action is part of a broad agreement with the Vilagarcía City Council, which will allow the creation of a large green area on former port land and a new health center. Cores Tourís emphasized that "the willingness to understand between administrations has allowed us to complete the design of the port-city interaction areas so that a continuum of spaces open to public use is created between the old water tank of the port and O Ramal, and at the same time, ensure proper planning of port expansions at the Comercial and Ferrazo docks, allowing the maximum use of their potential."
Rodríguez Dapena recalled that among the main objectives of the new Strategic Framework is the commitment to turn ports into spaces for citizens in every sense. Sharing those idle spaces for port activity and highlighting the socio-economic importance of ports is fundamental for us.
During his visit to the port area, Rodríguez Dapena had the opportunity to learn about the activity that takes place in these docks. The start-up of the container terminal, together with the growth experienced by other goods in the general cargo category, such as board or aluminum, largely explain the great growth in traffic recorded in recent years by the Arousa port, which was especially pronounced last year, closing with a historical record of traffic. The President of the Port Authority pointed out that "our growth rates highlight our importance within the port system to meet the needs of a hinterland that stands out for its dynamism and vocation for international expansion," and recalled that last year Vilagarcía recorded the second-highest percentage increase in traffic of the entire system, moving 25% more goods than in 2020.
A PORT OPEN TO ITS CITY
The President of Ports of the State also visited some of the areas that the port dedicates to port-city interaction, including green areas, public facilities, promenades, leisure areas, parking lots, and a bike lane.
Currently, almost 30% of the land managed by the Vilagarcía Port Authority is open to public use.
MEETING WITH THE PORT COMMUNITY
The visit to the port was completed with a meeting with the port community, with the participation of companies and institutions operating in the Vilagarcía port.
The situation created by the road transport strike and its impact on port activity was one of the issues addressed in the meeting.
In the same meeting, the president mentioned a strategic project for the future of the port, such as the dredging of the entrance channel and basins of the Vilagarcía port. In a context of sustained growth in the size of vessels making up the international merchant fleet, not only the provision of port infrastructure but also the depth of the docks must anticipate the future needs of maritime freight transport to enable the capture of new traffic and the growth of existing ones. According to Rodríguez Dapena, although we are focused on connectivity, digitization, and sustainability, we will not neglect those infrastructures, including dredging, necessary for port development.