The President of Puertos del Estado visits the Port of Ferrol and shows interest in the progress of the railway access

• Rodríguez Dapena and Francisco Barea visited the works that will improve the competitiveness and connectivity of the port and reinforce its role as an economic engine.
• The president met with the port community and showed interest in projects related to green hydrogen and renewable energies.
  Rodríguez Dapena highlights the investment effort that will be made until 2025: more than 99.3 million euros.

March 31, 2022. The President of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, visited the port of Ferrol today, accompanied by the president of the Port Authority of Ferrol-San Cibrao, Francisco Barea, to learn about its strategic projects. The visit, which began with a meeting with the management team of the Port Authority, included a tour of the facilities. In this way, Rodríguez Dapena was able to firsthand verify the progress of one of the key works to boost the competitiveness and connectivity of the port: the railway access.

Last January marked a major milestone when the tunnel, almost 6 kilometers long under the Brión massif, reached the breakthrough point, clearing up uncertainties about the work that is already 51% completed. This milestone overcame the most costly and complex part of this project, which will continue with the waterproofing of the tunnel and the start of the construction of the La Malata viaduct. These will be the next milestones of a project that is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.

The railway access, along with the internal railway network, of which the first two phases are already being implemented, will place the port of Ferrol in better competitive conditions. Francisco Barea emphasized that the main mission, as Port Authority, is to generate business opportunities for companies in the influence area but also to attract new companies that have the possibility of opening up to markets that were not profitable for them until now, and for this, connectivity is essential. This will create jobs and drive the economic development of the entire northern region of Galicia.

Rodríguez Dapena highlighted the significant investment effort that will be made in the Ferrol port in the coming years. Thus, he said, in the period 2021-25, more than 99.3 million euros in public investments are planned, of which 9.2 million are European funds under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (MRR).

NEW LINE FOR CONTAINER TRAFFIC

Rodríguez Dapena was also able to delve into one of the objectives of the port of Ferrol, which is the increase and diversification of traffic. For this reason, the President of Puertos del Estado learned about the new connection that started this March at the Yilport container terminal. The new X-Press Feeders service allows Ferrol to connect with the main goods markets worldwide, boosting the gradual growth of a terminal that recorded a 35% increase compared to 2020 in the closing of 2021. The new connection also facilitates the implementation of international business initiatives throughout northern Galicia, catalyzing economic development and job creation in the area.

A COMMITMENT TO CLEAN ENERGY

Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, accompanied by Francisco Barea, had the opportunity, during his visit to Ferrol, to meet with representatives of some of the main companies such as Reganosa, Endesa, Navantia, and Forestal del Atlántico, in addition to meeting the Port Community. During these meetings, the president of Puertos del Estado showed interest in the situation, challenges, and opportunities they face.

Challenges such as those posed by the current energy crisis and the opportunities that it offers, placing the port of Ferrol in the possibility of becoming an important energy hub. On the one hand, having one of the 6 regasification plants in Spain, which guarantees supply in times of such uncertainty. On the other hand, due to the new projects that are being considered with the aim of moving towards clean energy. In this sense, the Next Generation funds and the PERTE of Hydrogen, approved by the central government, provide guarantees and security in this development towards sustainable energy that the port of Ferrol is committed to, continuing to work on the Green Port where all port activities will be modernized, and the production of biofuels, green hydrogen generation, and its integration into industrial activity will be carried out.

An opportunity that opens up new possibilities for growth and new perspectives for the entire Port Community with which the President of Puertos del Estado had the opportunity to share a working day.