The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) and the Cádiz Free Trade Zone Consortium have agreed to develop a new logistics terminal for the organization and management of heavy export traffic in the Bahía de Algeciras tax-free zone, located in El Fresno, in the municipality of Los Barrios. The facility will have capacity for 500 trucks, occupy an area of 80,266 square meters, and involve a planned investment of 5.2 million euros by the port authority.
The APBA Board of Directors, which met this Monday, November 9, approved the terms of the collaboration agreement, which is expected to be signed in the coming weeks. The operation is also on the agenda of the Cádiz Free Trade Zone Executive Committee, convened for this week, and will add a new external area to the Port of Algeciras logistics system to meet freight transport needs.
The future Heavy Export Traffic Terminal to the Port of Algeciras (TTP2EX) will be established on three plots of 42,095, 27,331, and 10,840 square meters, respectively, which the Free Trade Zone leases to the Andalusian Public Ports Agency until 2068. These plots, which the Consortium had previously marketed to attract business and logistics activity, will now be used to build and operate the new infrastructure by subleasing them to the APBA.
The agreement establishes an initial term of 30 years, with the possibility of extensions for three-year periods, and an annual rent of 963,000 euros, financed by the Port Land Accessibility Fund. The Port Authority will cover both the investment needed to prepare the plots and the work required to bring them into service, maintain them, and subsequently operate them.
El Fresno was chosen following an analysis of possible locations conducted by the Port Authority. According to its president, Gerardo Landaluce, the APBA assessed up to 42 potential locations and examined 24 alternatives before selecting these plots, taking into account land availability, proximity to the port, and connections to the area's main road infrastructure.
The site is about three kilometers from the Port of Algeciras and is connected to the A-7 and A-381 highways, which link to the northern entrance to the port facilities via the N-357. Its location within a tax-free zone equipped with surveillance and access-control systems was another factor considered in choosing the terminal's location.
The project is part of the Port Authority's 2030 Strategic Plan with a 2040 vision, approved this year, which includes measures to improve operational efficiency, competitiveness, and the availability of space in connection with the growth of maritime and land traffic.
An external terminal to manage heavy export traffic
The new facility will operate as a multidisciplinary logistics area outside the port precinct, for the parking, regulation, and management of export trucks. Its design will allow operations taking place before vehicles enter the port to be concentrated in one area, including certain customs procedures and inspections of cargo units.
The aim is for trucks that have completed the relevant procedures to be able to proceed directly to the loading areas when entering the port facilities, reducing the need to wait and making it easier to organize heavy transport flows.
The project includes preparing the eight hectares with highly durable concrete paving designed to withstand the continuous movement and parking of industrial vehicles. The parking spaces will be 38 meters long, a size that will accommodate high-capacity transport configurations, including double-trailer trucks.
The terminal will also have access points equipped with control systems and automatic license plate recognition, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, and high-efficiency LED lighting. This equipment will be used to manage vehicle entry and exit and ensure the security of goods subject to customs inspection.
Planned facilities include a 600-square-meter service building, equipped with restrooms, changing rooms, a rest area, and a shop for truck drivers. Modules will also be provided for logistics operators working at the terminal.
The APBA considers that the availability of this external area will provide additional capacity during periods when truck numbers are at their highest and allow arrivals at the port precinct to be organized according to operational needs.
The infrastructure is planned in anticipation of growth in import and export traffic at the Port of Algeciras, both in containerized cargo and in the roll-on/roll-off traffic on the Algeciras–Tanger Med shipping line. Although the terminal will be dedicated specifically to heavy export traffic, its commissioning is part of the overall planning of land connections and logistics operations associated with both modes of transport.
The Port Authority will be responsible for carrying out the site preparation work, investing 5.2 million euros in the project. For its part, the Cádiz Free Trade Zone will build a second entrance gate on the north side of the tax-free zone, a project intended to improve internal traffic flow and connections to the new facilities.
APBA President Gerardo Landaluce has linked this initiative to the need for new spaces to regulate and manage heavy traffic in response to changes in port activity. He noted that the current situation requires facilities that can provide operators and transport companies with appropriate standards of safety and efficiency in accordance with applicable regulations.
Landaluce placed the project among the measures included in the Port Authority's 2030 Strategic Plan with a 2040 vision, which lists growth based on efficiency and improving the competitiveness of the Port of Algeciras among its three strategic priorities.
For his part, Fran González, the State Delegate at the Cádiz Free Trade Zone, linked the agreement to the work carried out in recent months to promote business and logistics use of the Bahía de Algeciras tax-free zone.
González said that making more than 80,000 square meters available for this infrastructure responds to the needs of the business community and enables a joint project between the two institutions. He also explained that the Free Trade Zone's objectives include facilitating the establishment of economic activities, attracting investment, and making use of available land for projects related to foreign trade and logistics.
The new terminal will be located in a site whose creation was included in the Spanish Government's 2018 Comprehensive Plan for Campo de Gibraltar. Its establishment as a free trade zone was authorized by the Ministry of Finance through an order published on October 1, 2019, as part of measures intended to promote economic and business activity in the region.
Work to prepare the site began in 2021, and the main works were completed in August 2022, following an investment of 2.5 million euros. Later that same year, the Consortium formalized an agreement with the Civil Guard to ensure surveillance and protection of the site as part of the procedures required to bring it into operation.
The Bahía de Algeciras tax-free zone is part of Andalusia's Logistics Network and benefits from the tax and customs conditions associated with its free trade zone status. Companies that set up and operate within its boundaries will be subject to the specific regulations applicable to this status.
The agreement between the Free Trade Zone and the Port Authority will make it possible to allocate part of this land to the logistical needs of the Port of Algeciras through a long-term sublease. The APBA will build and operate the terminal, while the Consortium will remain the land's tenant and receive the income specified in the agreement.
