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The APB is planning a redevelopment of Portitxol in the port of Palma aimed at opening up the inner harbour to the city, while preserving the neighbourhood's working-class and seafaring character

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) presented yesterday, together with Palma City Council, the Portitxol redevelopment project, an initiative that seeks to open up this strategic location between the port and the city and transform its seafront into a more integrated, accessible and sustainable space. The proposal involves freeing up 4,300 square metres for public use, gaining 5,500 square metres of green areas, eliminating architectural barriers that impede access to and view of the sea, improving urban mobility for residents, optimising port uses and strengthening the connection between the quay and the neighbourhood.

APB Chairman Javier Sanz, together with its director, Toni Ginard, and the councillor for Tourism, Culture, Sports and Municipal Coordination, Javier Bonet, yesterday presented the redevelopment project to representatives of the harbour's neighbourhood associations at a meeting in the Can Salas building, known as sa Petrolera. According to Sanz, "from a closed and overburdened space, we will move on to an open, planned and sustainable area, which will provide more quality of life, more city and more sea for everyone". "With these measures, the Portitxol will no longer be a barrier and will become a lively and accessible space, which will place people at the heart of things," he concluded.

One of the most interesting actions of the project is the redesign of the promenade and the intervention at the na Bàrbara river mouth. The project envisages the elimination of the current height difference of about four metres between the promenade and the docks, as well as the improvement of accessibility throughout the urban space. Architectural barriers will be removed to provide more than 4,300 square metres of open space for public use.

The new configuration envisages the harmonious coexistence of the neighbourhood's residents with the compatibility of other existing uses, such as restaurants, shops, port facilities and public recreation. Thus, while new spaces are being created to encourage socialising, relaxation and outdoor enjoyment by the general public, a surface car park is being created for residents, Calle de la Sirena is being pedestrianised and the accesses to road traffic are being reorganised, prioritising the needs of residents and pedestrian traffic.

The redeployment of these port uses will allow the creation of a large public square facing the sea, as well as the construction of an underground car park, replacing areas currently occupied by road traffic, and the dry marina with 5,500 square metres of green areas or areas for recreational use.

Renovating the port

The proposal also involves an ambitious intervention in the port area, renewing infrastructures, reorganising water sport uses and services, optimising underused spaces and creating new berths for small vessels.

Thus, the current sailing school run by the Club Nàutic Portitxol (Portixol Sailing Club) will move to the fishermen's wharf, while the dry dock and the dry marina will occupy the Troneras area. Both the Troneras and Sa Roqueta areas currently have an inefficient layout and a lack of basic services, which will be remedied with the installation of a fuel service station for boats and the optimisation of the water area to meet the demand for affordable moorings.

The symbiosis between public and port uses will have a new landmark with the construction of a treadableroof attached to the breakwater of the outer sea wall of Troneras. Under this deck, new spaces will be created for port facilities such as warehouses, storerooms and workshops. This solution will be similar to the one implemented a few years ago with great success in the neighbouring port of Molinar, which has a viewpoint overlooking the sea that has been very popular with local residents and walkers.

A port within the port

El Portitxol, located at the eastern end of the port of Palma, is today a small artificial dock used for mooring small boats. It is very popular with Palma's residents as a place for strolling, leisure and contact with the sea and the open air, as well as with marine sports users, due to the affordability and comfort of its mooring points.

Its origins as a natural inlet at the na Bàrbara river mouth as a shelter for boats can be traced back to the end of prehistoric times and it was used as a trading hub by several later civilisations, such as the Romans, Phoenicians, Byzantines and Carthaginians, among others. In the 18th century, the Molinar neighbourhood emerged from the fishermen's houses and summer homes that were established in the area and around the mills that were built on the coast.

But it was in the 19th and early 20th centuries that the area grew considerably with the emergence of gas, oil and electricity industries, which turned it into a working-class neighbourhood with a strong trade union and political character. Today it forms part of the public port domain assigned to the APB, used to manage moorings for seagoing vessels, most of which are less than eight metres in length, 460 of them directly and 301 through the Club Nàutic Portitxol.

The APB announces the DEL PAPER AL CEL (from paper to the sky) drawing competition for the Christmas lighting of the Port of Palma for next Christmas

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) announces the DEL PAPER AL CEL drawing competition, with which it intends to encourage the participation of the general public in the creation of the Christmas lights that will adorn the port of Palma next Christmas. The winning design will be transformed into LED lights that will be suspended on the Old Quay in front of the APB's main offices.

The competition is aimed at children and young people living in the Balearic Islands aged between 5 and 15, who must submit their creations until 14th September via the website set up for this purpose at noupasseigmaritimdepalma.portsdebalears.com, where the rules of the competition can be found.

The motifs of the drawing must be inspired by Christmas, the sea or the port environment. They can be characters, figures, objects or abstract ideas that are original and full of enthusiasm, that convey everything that the participants imagine when they think of Christmas.

At the end of the submission period, five finalist drawings will be chosen and published on the same website on 15 September. After this date, a public voting period will commence - also via the same portal - until 22 September.

The winner will see their talent recognised with the physical production of their design in a score of LED light structures, which will form part of the Christmas lighting on the seafront promenade. The winner will also be invited to the official Christmas lights switch-on ceremony to be held in the port of Palma on 22 November.

Lights over the Seafront

The APB, coinciding with the year of commissioning of Palma’s new Seafront Promenade (Paseo Maritimo), will light up this port-city area with Christmas motifs for the first time.

The areas that will have Christmas decorations for the first time will be the administrative and institutional headquarters (Port Centre) of the APB, the Old Quay, the royal steps of the Lonja Quay, the San Telmo gardens, San Magín Quay, Santo Domingo de la Calzada Square, the Golondrinas Quays, the new children's playground on the Seafront Promenade, as well as the trees from the APB headquarters to San Magín, and the street lamps from San Magín to the Paraires tower.

APB upgrades the Port Police fleet with more sustainable vehicles

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has upgraded part of the Port Police fleet with the incorporation of ten new vehicles, replacing ten others that have been withdrawn from service. This initiative was carried out with a total investment of 545,000 euros and forms part of the APB's commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.

The new additions are hybrid and electric vehicles. The vans are all-electric, while the off-road cars have a hybrid system and are equipped with a detainee kit for operational tasks.

The vehicles have been allocated to the ports of Palma, Mahón and Ibiza. Palma received five units, Ibiza four and Mahón one. This distribution responds to the operational needs of each port and contributes to reinforcing the presence and capacity for action of the Port Police.

With this renewal, the Port Police fleet now numbers thirty vehicles in total among all the ports managed by the APB. This figure includes motorbikes, passenger cars and vans. It should be noted that the renovation does not imply an increase in the number of vehicles, but rather a qualitative improvement in the resources available.

The APB thus continues to move towards a cleaner and more efficient mobility model, while improving the staff working conditions and heightening the security of the port area.

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Lighthouses of the Balearic Islands

Ships in Port

Transparency Portal

Air quality

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Economic and social impact

Weather forecast

Navigation aids

Interesting links

Annual Report

This publication details the APB’s financial situation, the technical characteristics of its public ports and provides an overview of the institution’s activities.

Notice Boards

Link to the APB’s e-office which features the official notice boards on public information, human resources, public port land, and auctions, as well as other notices.

Sustainability Reports

This report sets out the actions carried out to create value for the APB’s stakeholders, in compliance with its commitment to transparent management.

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Statistics

These provide a detailed picture about the traffic using the public ports of Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina.

Financial Statements

Comprehensive information, including the audit report, of the most recent financial statements passed by the APB's Board of Directors, and given a favourable report by the Spanish National Audit Office.

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