port of barcelona

Container exportation from Barcelona Port grew by 8.7% in 2012

January 24, 2013 11:10 PM | CNA

The Port of Barcelona, one of southern Europe’s main transport infrastructures, continues to bring positive results. Over the last year the Catalan harbour unveiled two new container terminals, an investment to consolidate the trend of attracting greater container traffic, as the 8.7% increase shows. In addition, the number of cars transported increased by 9.8%. These figures are to be added to the 12% increase in container exports and 25% growth of car exports through Barcelona’s harbour in 2011. Besides, the port in the capital of Catalonia continues to lead the cruise ship sector in Europe, transporting 2.4 million passengers and almost reaching last year’s record high of 2.6 million cruisers.

Italian ferry company Grimaldi invests €20 million in its new terminal in Barcelona Port

January 14, 2013 10:28 PM | CNA

Grimaldi will build a new short-distance terminal in Barcelona Port and run it for a 15-year period, which has the possibility to be extended for a further seven and a half years. The Italian company wants to increase its presence in the Catalan capital, from where it currently runs four regular ferry lines linking Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Rome), Livorno (Florence), Porto Torres (Sardinia) and Tanger (Morocco). The new building will be ready by next summer and will be able to serve 1,800 passengers. It will cover 3,750 m2, have three stories and three boarding bridges, and it will be surrounded by a large esplanade where cars can wait before they board the ferry.

The Hermitage Museum to open centre in Barcelona

October 30, 2012 11:45 PM | CNA

The Catalan Government has confirmed that a framework agreement has been reached with the project's promoters, with the green light from Barcelona’s City Council. However the final details are still pending negotiation. No public funds from Catalan institutions will be allocated. The Catalan President, Artur Mas, will sign the agreement during his trip to Russia, scheduled for between Wednesday and Friday. Barcelona’s Hermitage will very likely occupy three old warehouses located at the city port, in front of the beach and the luxury hotel W. The architectural project was released two weeks ago and will fully renovate the old warehouses, which will have their own dock and three floors, including a basement. The Hermitage has already opened other centres outside Saint Petersburg, in Amsterdam, Ferrara and Kazan.

The largest container terminal in southern Europe is officially unveiled in Barcelona Port

September 28, 2012 02:12 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The Catalan capital hosts the largest and most modern container terminal of the Mediterranean Sea, a true gate for cargo ships, linking Europe with the Middle East, Northern Africa and Asia. BEST, which stands for Barcelona Europe South Terminal, represents a €515 million investment by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH). This week it has unveiled the first part of the project: 100 hectares to store containers, 1.5 kilometres of docking space for cargo ships, 98 cranes and a provisional international-width railway connection to compete with northern European harbours. However, the Spanish Government has not started the definitive railway connection yet, despite many promises.

Catalan freight company TCB invests €60 million into the Port of Barcelona’s infrastructure

September 13, 2012 12:29 AM | CNA / David Tuxworth

The Mayor of Barcelona welcomed the company’s investments and commitment to efficiency at the Port of Barcelona. The Catalan harbour is significantly increasing its container traffic in the last few years. Barcelona’s Port aims to become the main logistical hub in Southern Europe, using the international standard rail gauge to directly connect to Central Europe and new freight terminals. The Catalan company TCB is expanding its freight railway station and its power substation, as well as enlarging the ship docking space. The improvements will increase the maximum number of shipping containers transported by TCB from 0.9 million to 2.3 million by the end of 2013.

High Speed Train between Barcelona and Madrid gets 50% of the passenger traffic between the two cities

August 27, 2012 11:25 PM | CNA

50.2% of the people travelling between Barcelona and Madrid in the first six months of the year used the High Speed Train (AVE), instead of the car, bus or airplane. 1.4 million people used this AVE line between January and June, a 6.2% increase compared to the same period last year. In addition, the Port of Barcelona had 905,000 passengers in the first half of 2012, making it the first port in Spain in terms of passenger traffic.

Barcelona Port becomes the largest oil logistics platform in the Mediterranean

April 27, 2012 11:58 PM | CNA

The Russian company Lukoil has reached an agreement with the Catalan company Meroil to build 13 new oil tanks at Barcelona Port, which are able to store 360,000 cubic metres. Furthermore, Barcelona Port is the only Mediterranean port ready to host the largest and deepest oil tankers. The Catalan President, Artur Mas, unveiled the infrastructure and emphasised Catalonia is strengthening its position as “Europe’s gateway for goods coming from Asia and North Africa”. He also noted Catalonia’s attractive position for foreign investment. Barcelona Port is linked by international width standard railway with Central Europe and has the Zona Franca logistics and industrial district next to it.

Barcelona Port affected by a lack of investment from the Spanish Government

March 6, 2012 12:13 AM | CNA

The enlargement of Barcelona Port, where Hutchison’s new container terminal will be located, was supposed to be linked by International-width standard railway to Central Europe and be better connected by road. However, the Spanish Minister for Transport and Public Works, Ana Pastor, announced that work cannot start this year; neither can she guarantee the provisional solution will be in place in June, when the new container terminal was supposed to start operating. Since the Spanish Government has not started the work, the technical studies have expired. “Hopefully they will be redone by the end of the year”, said Pastor.

The European Commission would include the Mediterranean Railway Corridor as an EU transport priority

October 5, 2011 09:19 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

According to some MEPs, the international-width high-speed railway corridor for freight and passengers along Spain’s Mediterranean coast that connects ports, industrial centres and tourist resorts would be included in the next priority map of European transport networks. The necessary infrastructural project for the EU economy would link Central and Northern Europe with Spain’s ports that trade directly with North Africa and Asia, enabling trains going non-stop on international-width railway. The EU would pay for 25% of its cost. The Central Corridor passing through Madrid, Zaragoza and the Central Pyrenees would fall from the list, as economic criteria are decisive in times of economic difficulties. However, the definitive list will be released on October 19th.

Barcelona’s port ready for becoming the main hub in the Western Mediterranean for oil and liquid gas

August 16, 2011 09:43 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The new mooring station to load and offload oil and other bulk liquids is designed for large ships. It will be the deepest of all the Western Mediterranean, including Northern Africa. 275-metre-long ships, weighting up to 175,000 tons and with a 15-metre-deep draft will be able to dock in Barcelona. Barcelona harbour aims at consolidating its leadership among all Mediterranean harbours regarding goods transportation, bulk and by container.