The APB to put the Botafoc Harbour Station works at the Port of Ibiza out to tender next June

The APB to put the Botafoc Harbour Station works at the Port of Ibiza out to tender next June

Eivissa

14/02/2018

Joan Gual de Torrella, president of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), has announced that a tender process for the construction works of the new Botafoc Harbour Station at the Port of Ibiza is to be launched in June. It is expected that the construction of the new building, which has an estimated budget of 9.6 million euros, could begin towards the end of this year, during the low season so as to interfere as little as possible with the island, residents and the visitors.

The new building, covering a surface area of 5,800 m2, will have all of the services required to meet the needs of passengers, making the compliance of safety and accessibility measures top priority. It will offer its users extensive waiting room areas, as well as separate boarding and disembarkation areas, and all the amenities needed to ensure that passengers receive the comfort sought. It will be a three-floor building. The passenger ticket desk at the station harbour, as well as the access gate and exit, will be located on the 4,400-m2 ground floor. The first floor, covering 700 m2, will be used for offices, while passenger boarding and disembarkation will take place on the second floor, which also covers 700 m2. The building will be eight metres high and will not exceed the current height of the boarding and disembarkation walkways in order to reduce the visual impact.

Joan Gual said he was happy about the commencement of the works because: "they form part of the commitments that the Port Authority is undertaking with the Council of Ibiza, while also being a commitment to passengers." The APB president has confirmed that the Port of Ibiza needed worthy, safe and comfortable facilities that were on par with its growth and passenger influx, almost a million per year.

Gual made the declarations at the Club Naútico of Ibiza during the 'Balance and Future of the Port of Ibiza Conference', where the most significant actions of the APB and the next steps it is to undertake at the port, such as the construction of the Harbour Station, were discussed. Rafael Ruiz, Mayor of Ibiza, and Joan Marí, the president of the Club Náutico of Ibiza, both attended the event.

Energy saving and the use of plant materials in the construction will be considered in the project. The project won an ideas competition, the jury of which comprised the Council of Ibiza, the Business Association of Entrepreneurs of Maritime Activities on the Balearic Islands, the Association of Architects, the Association of Civil Engineers of the Balearic Islands and the APB. Finally, the project that will be put out to tender has received the approval of the Town Planning Department of the Council of Ibiza.