Under the concept of "Just-in-time Port" —a port without waits or downtime—, the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has grouped in its Strategic Plan 2030 with a 2040 vision the set of digital commitments it aims to finalize by the end of the decade. The block, integrated into the strategic objective P3 of the document, proposes four quantitative goals of 100%: traceability of operational processes through advanced digital technologies, prediction and prescription of operational events with artificial intelligence, automation of internal procedures, and integration with the main global logistics chains. To these goals are added two formulations without percentages but equally ambitious: zero downtime and zero avoidable waits through the digital orchestration of operations, and the participation of more than 40 companies from the Port Community in joint innovation initiatives.
The strategic objective P3 is summarized in one sentence: "agile, advanced, coordinated port operations based on reliable real-time predictions and prescriptions that enhance the operational efficiency of the port in all its key areas." Translated into concrete operations, it means that the APBA aspires for each truck movement, each ship docking, and each documentary procedure to be recorded, anticipated, and fitted into a sequence without empty times. The term Just-in-time —taken from industrial production— synthesizes that logic: arrive when it corresponds, depart when it corresponds, and avoid waiting as an avoidable cost.
The commitment fits within the European framework that has governed the sector since last year. Regulation (EU) 2019/1239, which creates the environment of the European Maritime Single Window (EMSWe), came into effect on August 15, 2025, and repealed Directive 2010/65/EU. The standard establishes a single entry point for information regarding ship dockings that Ports of the State manages in Spain through the DUEPORT platform, in its capacity as the national coordinator of EMSWe. In parallel, the European SEMAS-EMSWe project, led by the Valenciaport Foundation and with Ports of the State among its institutional partners, co-finances, in accordance with the Connecting Europe Facility, the adaptation of national windows to the new environment. The "digital integration with the main global logistics chains" that the plan sets as a goal responds to that framework.
The figure of more than 40 companies from the Port Community in innovation initiatives is probably the most verifiable of the goals of the block. The APBA already operates a Port Innovation Committee for the Bay of Algeciras, with stable representation from the business community. Its sessions have rotated over the last few months between the headquarters of the Port Authority, the Chamber of Commerce of Campo de Gibraltar, and the Algeciras Technological Campus Foundation (FCTA), and have incorporated as vocal members companies from the ecosystem —Continental Parking joined in November 2025—. In April 2026, the APBA supported 29 initiatives within the IV Call of the Ports Innovation Fund 4.0, managed by Ports of the State. Throughout the four calls, the Port Authority has analyzed more than 130 proposals and supported 101, of which 17 have received funding.
