Autonomy and economic auto-sufficiency of Balearic ports
19/08/2016
The Balearic Port Authority (APB) manages the five ports in the Balearic Islands considered to be of general interest: Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and Savina. The main management body is the Board of Directors where there are representatives of the institutions and business and economic entities with most representation in the Balearic society or they have links with the ports activity. The president, designated by the Government of the Balearic Islands, is Joan Gual de Torrella. He is the representative of APB and establishes the broad outlines of management.
As Mr. Gual points out, the objective of the APB "is to offer a good service and that all the traffic of the ports, both merchant and touristic and the industrial activity, can be carried out as efficiently as possible".
One of the characteristics of the ports of general interest is auto-sufficiency and economic and financial autonomy. For Mr. Gual it is "a successful model because budgets of the ports are generated within each port and the results are redistributed between those with activities which produce more and those which need help, such as freight, which in turn helps to reduce the costs of insularity".
The APB implements the path to be taken for the most important projects to be executed in the ports. For example in Alcudia, Joan Gual de Torrella highlights the necessity of "extending the promenade to the port terminal in order to make the port area more comfortable and accessible for both locals and tourists".
In the case of Mahon, the APB is preparing an action plan together with all the Minorcan society. In Palma, the cruise terminal will be finished. "We have to replace a roof that was provisional, assures Mr. Gual, with an adequate building, with little visual impact but that meets the quality standards needed in a port such as Palma".
In order to execute these projects and preserve the environment of the ports, APB applies environmental management policies in which are involved both users and port companies.
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