The president of Puertos del Estado highlights the role of the Port of Cartagena as a key infrastructure for economic recovery

The president of the Port Authority, Yolanda Muñoz, together with the president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez, analyzes strategic projects to advance towards a more welcoming, intermodal, and competitive port.

February 8, 2022. The president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, visited the Port of Cartagena today, where he reviewed the strategic projects launched by the Port Authority to move towards a more welcoming, intermodal, and competitive port. Sustainability and innovation are key to consolidating Cartagena as a 21st-century logistics hub in the Mediterranean, emphasizing the port's membership in the core network of the Trans-European Transport Network and its inclusion in the Mediterranean Corridor.

The president of Puertos del Estado highlighted "the fundamental role of the Port Authority and the companies in the Escombreras valley to contribute to the economic recovery of the region and, therefore, the whole of Spain" and encouraged the Port Community to advance in synchromodality as a competitiveness tool. The president of the Port Authority emphasized that an investment plan with a budget of 200 million has been approved, allowing for a comprehensive remodeling of its docks to streamline port operations and adapt them to the diversification of traffic that the Port of Cartagena has been undergoing in recent years. In this regard, guidelines have also been set for the infrastructural development planning in Escombreras, through the project known as Barlomar, aiming to continue generating capacity to handle the potential traffic of the port.

These projects, along with the start of the railway in Escombreras, the future areas for logistics development, and the commitment to liquefied natural gas with the expansion of the Prince Felipe dock, have been discussed by representatives of Puertos del Estado, the president of the Port Authority, Yolanda Muñoz, and the general manager, Fermín Rol, in a meeting with companies from the Port Community operating in the Port of Cartagena. The president of Puertos del Estado expressed gratitude and emphasized "the importance of the work of the Port Community, especially in such challenging times as during the pandemic, which ensured that the logistics chains continued to function normally." Muñoz highlighted "the involvement of the Port Community with the port to lead a path started more than ten years ago that has allowed us to be a benchmark in sustainability in the Spanish port system."

In this context, during the visit, representatives of Puertos del Estado visited the port-city integration spaces with the Plaza Mayor projects and future actions in Espalmador, which will create a great bay for the people of Cartagena and make the port more attractive to tourists arriving via cruises.

Muñoz emphasized the connection of the president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez, with Cartagena, "an ally that will allow us to achieve the goal of making the Port of Cartagena a benchmark in generating economic, environmental, and social value on a large scale."