Taking care of the present.Laying the foundations

for the future.

Jesús Caicedo BernabéPresident of the Almería Port Authority

A review of the key figures indi-cates that 2019 was a year of ups and downs. The combined balan-ce sheet for the ports managed by the Almería Port Authority —at the provincial capital and Carboneras— indicates some impressive figures

in terms of general freight volume, which has increased by 86.31%, while the number of passengers was almost 960,000. Dry bulk vo-lume, on the other hand, recorded a decrease of 49.45%.

The decrease in dry bulk volu-me reflects the experience of the Port of Carboneras, where volumes shrunk by nearly 45% due to the freeze on imported coal for the now inactive Endesa Thermal Power Station, and the Port of Lafarge-Holcim, which reported a drop of 42.5% in cement volume. A notable increase of 33.4% in dry bulk volu-me through the Ribera I Quay, ma-naged directly by the Almería Port

Authority (APA), was not enough to compensate these downturns.

The Port of Almería, on the other hand, registered an increase in fre-ight volume of 45.2%. Gypsum, cement, fertilizers and salt were the dry bulk commodities to record the most significant volumes. Ge-neral freight volume increased by more than 86%, with important contributions made by steel pro-ducts, fertilizers, food products, construction materials and ro-ro freight. Container freight continued the upward trend begun last year, reporting an impressive increase of 316%. A little over 4,100 tonnes of fish were landed at the Lonja de

Almería fish market, down 2.3% on the figures for 2018.

Looking beyond the cyclical fluctuations in the data, the ma-nagement balance sheet indicates that 2019 was a year in which the foundations were laid for our ports to steer a new course and be better equipped to meet future challen-ges.

During the previous accounting period, we adopted the 2020–2024 Investment Plan, an ambitious pro-gramme with which we launched a series of projects to enable us to add to and improve port infrastruc-tures and services. These projects —some of which are already under construction— contribute to the de-velopment and creation of employ-ment in the port community and the province of Almería. The APA is conscious that this development must be sustainable, socially and economically as well as environ-mentally.

One of the most important lar-ge-scale projects under the Inves-tment Plan is the extension of the Pechina Quay and its connection with the exterior dike, creating a new harbor basin able to admit

deeper-draught vessels and handle growing freight volumes. Other im-portant projects are the dust-con-trol barriers at the Port of Carbone-ras; the anchorage classification of the Puerto Pesquero; the refurbish-ment of the new esplanades reclai-med from the sea next to the Pechi-na Quay; and the extension of the Levante Quay for cruise ship sto-

vitally important challenges that we are also working on.

As part of our ambition to open up the Port of Almería and integrate it into the city, progress was also made with Almería’s largest town planning project, the City-Port pro-ject. An important milestone was the allocation of the tender for res-toration work to the “English Ca-ble” structure, an iconic feature of the city which, in 2021, will provide a pedestrian walkway to and from the city, offering spectacular views over the city and bay areas.

I wish to express my apprecia-tion to the port community and the APA team for their efforts, thanks to which the ports at Almería and Carboneras have become one of the primary focal points of wealth and job creation in the province. It is our intention that they remain so. Our objectives are clear: we have the resources, the will and the deter-mination.

I am convinced that collabora-tion between all the members of the port community’s extended family and associated government agencies will ensure our ability to lay the foundations for the future.

povers. Other projects of note are the Second-Sale Fish Centre; the new security forces headquarters; and the photo-voltaic energy ins-tallation which will supply almost 100% of the electrical energy re-quirements of the Maritime Station at the Port of Almería. Direct road access to the ports at Almería and Carboneras, as well as rail links, are

Our objectives are clear:

we have the resources,

the will and the

determination