The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) approved this Thursday, July 30, the Business Plan 2027, which contemplates an investment of 677 million euros during the period 2026-2030. The programming also includes a forecast of 711 million euros in private investment, linked to projects such as the expansion of Total Terminal International Algeciras and the Offshore Dredging actions at Campamento.
The document is the first to adapt the economic planning of the APBA to the Strategic Plan 2030 with a 2040 vision, presented during this month of July. This roadmap establishes the lines of work for the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa during the coming years and organizes the planned actions in infrastructure, land accessibility, energy, sustainability, and port-city relations.
The president of the APBA, Gerardo Landaluce, has stated that the execution of the investment program and its effects on employment and economic activity also depend on improvements in external connections. Among them, he has mentioned the duplication of the North Access tunnel on the N-357 road, whose construction has been recently awarded.
The Port Authority maintains among its priorities the duplication of the N-340 between Algeciras and Tarifa and the increase in capacity of the AP-7 between San Roque and Algeciras. According to the institution, these actions are necessary for the circulation of goods, the mobility of the population, and the continuity of the planned private projects in the port environment.
Landaluce has also called for a faster pace in the works of the Algeciras-Zaragoza Railway Highway, especially in the section between Algeciras and Bobadilla. He has added to this need the expansion of capacity and available electrical power in the Campo de Gibraltar, deemed necessary for green hydrogen projects related to the energy transition.
Within the direct competencies of the APBA, a central part of the investment will be directed to the land side, with actions to optimize the port area and improve connections by road and rail. These projects are part of the Hercules Plan, aimed at transforming the traffics that use the Strait.
The actions for road and rail accessibility amount to 124 million euros. Among them are the Technical Railway Installation of Botafuegos and an independent branch that will connect it with the Port of Algeciras. Both projects are in the phase of provisional approval of the informative study.
The intervention includes the first 3.6 kilometers of a section included in the trans-European transport network Algeciras-Madrid, both in the Mediterranean Corridor and in the Atlantic. The APBA intends to finance its execution through the Financial Fund for Port Land Accessibility. The new infrastructure will allow separating, in this initial stretch, railway circulation of goods from that of passengers, which currently shares a single track to Bobadilla.
One in every six euros of the planned investment will be directed to sustainability and energy projects. A significant part corresponds to the installation of OPS systems, which stands for Onshore Power Supply, at the docks of Algeciras and Tarifa. This technology will allow ships to connect to the electrical grid during their stay in port, with the consequent reduction in emissions, noise, and vibrations while they remain docked.
The actions for port-city relations will concentrate more than 12% of the planned investment for the five-year period. The Business Plan includes different phases of the Maritime Lake, the completion of work at the Fort of Isla Verde, and the first phase of the Fort of Punta Carnero. Both heritage projects have financing from the 2% Cultural program of the Ministry of Transport.
The document also includes the works for the new fish market of Algeciras, the expansion of the Border Control Post, a parking building, and annexed facilities to the Process Control Center of the Port of Algeciras, in addition to a new CSI scanner and the building intended to house it.
The port infrastructure concentrates 156 million euros. Among the planned interventions is the expansion of the Galera Dock and its connection with Isla Verde. The new boarding tunnels and mobile walkways at the passenger terminal of the Port of Algeciras will receive 15 million euros. The APBA reserves an amount equivalent for the replacement of fenders during the final phase of the validity period of the Plan.
Regarding traffic, planning sets for 2030 an activity of over six million containers at the Port of Algeciras, a figure that would be reached for the first time. The forecast for total traffic stands at 125 million tons annually. These estimates serve as a reference for sizing the infrastructure and services included in the program approved by the Board of Directors.