The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has put out to tender the assistance to draft the projects that will define the necessary works to increase the draft of the Juan Carlos I North and Juan Carlos I East docks, at the APM Terminals container terminal in the Port of Algeciras. The contract has an estimated value of 279,650 euros, excluding VAT, and interested companies can submit their bids until September 22, 2026.
The objective is to prepare in detail the actions that must be carried out at both docks before undertaking dredging. The intention of the Port Authority is for the Juan Carlos I North Dock to reach a draft of up to 15.50 meters and for certain sections of the Juan Carlos I East Dock to reach up to 18.50 meters. These actions are included in the APBA Investment Plan for the period 2027-2031.
The draft is the depth that a ship needs under water to enter and stay safely alongside the dock. The larger the vessels, the greater depth they require. In this case, the adaptation is related to the increasing size of the container ships operating at the Juan Carlos I terminal.
At the North Dock, the project must prepare the infrastructure so that vessels with a draft of about 15 meters can dock. At the East Dock, the aim set by the APBA is to have enough space and depth for two large container ships of the so-called Triple E class to operate simultaneously, compared to the current possibility of receiving one under certain conditions.
The tender documentation indicates that the APBA and APM Terminals Algeciras have agreed to carry out the necessary actions to increase the operational draft of these two berthing fronts. Before removing material from the seabed, it will be necessary to check how the docks can respond to these new depths and what modifications will be needed to maintain their safety and operation.
The contract now put out to tender does not include dredging works. Those works will be defined later by another project. The task contracted in this phase consists of studying the current state of the docks and preparing solutions to adapt them before gaining depth next to the berthing lines.
The work will encompass the entire Juan Carlos I North Dock and, in the case of the East Dock, the section between bollards 17 and 33. Although these are two distinct areas, the Port Authority has decided to contract their study jointly because they are situated next to each other and are part of the same operational space. The result, however, will be two separate projects, so that future works can be contracted or executed independently if deemed necessary.
The selected company will have to review the condition of the structures, study the terrain, take precise measurements of the area, and analyze the documentation of previously completed works. It will also need to define the necessary adaptations in defenses, bollards, dock edges, service networks, and other elements that may be affected.
One of the planned tasks will be the complete measurement of a strip of 40 meters from the edge of the docks. This information will serve to determine if the structures and the paths used by cranes have shifted over time, and to account for them when preparing future works.
The projects must also consider the weight of the cranes that will work at the terminal. The documentation uses loads of up to 22 tons as a reference in the calculations anticipated for the new usage conditions of both docks. Furthermore, during future works, solutions must be contemplated that allow for the current activity of the terminal to be maintained whenever possible.
The tender also includes the development of three-dimensional digital models of the planned actions. These models will allow the structures and proposed works to be represented in a coordinated manner with traditional plans and documents.
Of the total budget, 110,000 euros correspond to the drafting of the two construction projects. Another 50,000 euros are allocated to define solutions for adapting the docks to the new draft, 40,000 euros for studying the terrain and capacity of the structures, 20,000 euros for initial analysis and fieldwork, and 15,000 euros for the digital models. Including general expenses and the business margin, the estimated value rises to 279,650 euros excluding VAT.
The planned timeframe for completing the work is nine months from the signing of the contract. At the end of this period, the two projects that will serve as a basis for later contracting the works at the Juan Carlos I North Dock and the planned section of the Juan Carlos I East Dock must be ready.