Algeciras will have a smart urban platform aimed at integrating information from the city and the Port of Algeciras through a digital twin that will allow simulating situations related to mobility, port accesses, and the functioning of the logistics environment.
The project, called 'Algeciras Smart Economy: Urban Intelligence Platform Port-City for Economic Competitiveness and Local Entrepreneurship', has been selected within the RedCyTI program, promoted by Red.es, an entity linked to the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function.
The initiative has a budget close to 1.55 million euros. The funding from Red.es will cover 85% of the project, approximately 1.32 million, within a call supported with own funds and resources from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The main component will be the creation of a digital twin of Algeciras and its port environment. This virtual replica will incorporate information from sensors, cameras, and other data sources to represent the functioning of different elements of the city and the port.
The tool will allow reproducing scenarios before making on-the-ground decisions. Among its possible applications are the analysis of traffic congestion and port accesses, forecasting situations arising from a high concentration of trucks, or simulating modifications in infrastructures and mobility systems.
When the City Council presented the project to the call last March, it pointed out among the possible uses of the system the simulation of changes in the signage of access to the port, the forecasting of congestion during the Operation Pass of the Strait, and the analysis of possible modifications of the northern and southern accesses to the port area.
The platform is also designed to analyze through virtual models the effect of changes in public transport or specific actions on emissions before their physical application.
The project also includes a technological sandbox and a collaborative experimentation space or living lab. Both will be aimed at companies, startups, entrepreneurs, students, and researchers interested in developing and testing solutions using information linked to urban and port functioning.
These environments will allow experimentation with applications related to logistics, mobility, the environment, and other activities associated with the economic ecosystem of Algeciras within a controlled space.
The City Council will lead the initiative with the participation of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) and various business, technological, and academic organizations.
Among the entities included in the project are TTI Algeciras, Comport, the Chamber of Commerce of Campo de Gibraltar, AESBA, and the Free Zone of Cádiz. The technology companies Nextport and Delonia also participate, as well as the Digital Entrepreneurship Center promoted by the Digital Agency of Andalusia.
The academic field will be represented by the University of Cádiz, through the Bahía de Algeciras Campus and the Technological Campus Foundation of Algeciras, as well as UNED.
The Deputy Mayor for European Funds, Yéssica Rodríguez, has indicated that the project will improve urban planning and coordination between the City Council and the Port Authority, especially in aspects linked to the relationship between logistics activity and the mobility of the city.
The initiative from Algeciras is part of the 52 projects selected in Spain by Red.es within RedCyTI. The program will mobilize more than 126 million euros, of which more than 94 million will come from Red.es and ERDF funds. The selected projects have individual budgets ranging from 1.5 to 6 million euros.
In Andalusia, initiatives from eleven municipalities and four provincial councils have been selected. In the province of Cádiz, the projects presented by Algeciras, Rota, and Villaluenga del Rosario appear.