The APB launches a public tender for the commercial operation of the fish market at the Contramuelle-Mollet in the port of Palma

The APB launches a public tender for the commercial operation of the fish market at the Contramuelle-Mollet in the port of Palma

21/12/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the specifications and operating clauses that shall govern the public tender to grant a commercial operating licence for the fish market, located in the Contramuelle-Mollet in the port of Palma, at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma. This facility has a total surface area of almost 1,900 square metres of public port area. The duration of the contract will be five years. The annual occupancy fee will be at least 24,000 euros, and the minimum activity fee will be five thousand euros a year. The fish market at the Contramuelle-Mollet in the port of Palma is once again being tendered after the APB Board of Directors decided at the same meeting held yesterday to reject the proposal presented by OPMALLORCAMAR as it did not meet the conditions required in the Tender Specifications.

Socio-economic development
The APB launches a public tender to manage two facilities for mooring recreational boats in the port of Palma

The APB launches a public tender to manage two facilities for mooring recreational boats in the port of Palma

21/12/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the terms and conditions and operating clauses for the public tenders to manage and operate two facilities for mooring recreational boats in the port of Palma at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma. The maximum duration of both contracts may not exceed ten years. The first facility is located between the Local Traffic terminal or Golondrinas wharf and the Mediterranean pontoon, currently occupied by Marina Port de Mallorca. The total surface area is almost 72,000 square metres between the land area and the water mirror. Once the annual occupancy rate has been improved, it will be 950,000 euros. While the activity tax will be 4% of the turnover developed by the operator. The second tender is to manage and operate the mooring posts on the Quarantine jetty. The space covered by this call for tenders amounts to more than 18,000 square metres of public port area. The annual occupation fee, which is to be improved, is 350,000 euros and the activity fee will be 4% of the turnover developed by the operator.

Socio-economic development
The APB launches a tender for the beaching and launching area at Cós Nou in the port of Maó

The APB launches a tender for the beaching and launching area at Cós Nou in the port of Maó

21/12/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the specifications and operating clauses governing the public tender to grant a concession to manage and operate the area for dry dock and boat launching services, located at Cós Nou in the port of Maó, at its last meeting held yesterday in Palma. The space subject to tender has a minimum surface area of twenty-four thousand square metres of public port domain, which may be extended. The duration of the contract may not exceed twenty-five years. The annual amount of the occupation fee, subject to the possibility of improvements being offered, is 177,000 euros. The activity fee will be two percent of the turnover of the services that must be provided by the concessionaire. Boat repair and maintenance services, in addition to the operator, may be provided by any company authorised by the APB to carry them out. This means that the operator will not have an exclusivity arrangement for providing these services. However, it will have an exclusive arrangement for dry docking, launching and supplies to vessels. The APB has a motorised crane or travel lift at Cós Nou which is used to move vessels of up to 150 tonnes.

Socio-economic development
The Menorcan illustrator, Ivan Triay, designs the Christmas card and the APB 2024 calendar

The Menorcan illustrator, Ivan Triay, designs the Christmas card and the APB 2024 calendar

12/12/2023

Ivan Triay knows the secret of Mediterranean living. In fact, a well-known brand of beer entrusted him with promoting one of its summer advertising campaigns. Indeed, summer and the Mediterranean are a constant theme in the work of this painter, illustrator and graphic designer who was born in Menorca, where everything happens at the speed of his drawings. The APB has commissioned the artist to design its 2024 calendar and Christmas card on the condition that they feature the five general interest ports and several lighthouses, while giving particular prominence to the port of Maó. -Why is it always summer in your work? Have you accepted irreversible climate change? -I've never thought about it... but it's true, it's always summer I didn't even realise. I suppose I associate summer with holidays in Menorca. I've lived in Barcelona for more than 20 years, and I usually spend a good part of the summer in sa Roqueta recharging my batteries, and I suppose it's also where I get the most inspiration for my work... which is why I tend to draw people in short sleeves and lots of sea... Climate change, unfortunately, is already with us, and I think it's here to stay. -The Mallorcan guitarist Joan Bibiloni wrote Una Vida Llarga y Tranquila. Does this title resonate with the existential objective of your characters? -Without a doubt, it's the "good life" as we say over there. It's the summers of the past, those endless holidays... And let's not fool ourselves it's the best way to live, and I would say it's not just the life objective of my characters it's everyone's. -You're already very familiar with the landscapes of Menorca and Barcelona. How did you find drawing Palma, Alcudia, Eivissa and la Savina? -Honestly, it was quite a challenge. I've never been to any of these places, and I don't know them, which makes drawing them a bit tricky. Luckily, you advised me well, and with the help of some pictures I found, I think I've managed to do a good job. -How well do you know the port of Maó? -Very well, although I'm from Ciutadella, I spent a lot of my childhood in Maó. My mother was a nurse who worked for many years in the old hospital, and one of the things I remember are the views of the port from that building. Later, I ended up studying in Mahón. I travelled there every day from Ciutadella. I know the city quite well, and also its impressive port. -And the lighthouses? What do lighthouses represent for a Menorcan like you? -They're the guides that lead us to a safe harbour. They represent safety and the fact that you're nearly home... For me personally, there's one in particular that reminds me of my childhood, sa Farola, the lighthouse at the entrance to Ciutadella port. There’s a little beach next to it and some landings where we spent half our lives... I haven't drawn it in the calendar because it's the one that has appeared most often in my work, and I wanted to draw some of the others. -How did you approach the APB calendar and Christmas card assignment? What did you look for in each port? -I decided to do something different from anything I've done before. I started experimenting with a program called Procreate for digital illustration and found that it produced pretty good results. I've approached both the ports and the lighthouses like a set, a background landscape, giving centre stage to the characters and scenes, which, in turn, interact with the backdrop. Like a kind of self-nourishing cycle.

Port-city
The APB removes the barrier on Paseo de la Marina in the port of Ibiza and allows vehicles to park until March

The APB removes the barrier on Paseo de la Marina in the port of Ibiza and allows vehicles to park until March

28/11/2023

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) has decided to lift the access barrier to the Paseo de la Marina in the port of Ibiza to allow road traffic to pass through from 1st December until 1st March. This action is intended to facilitate mobility and parking in the area. Ibiza City Council has taken this initiative at the request of local residents and shopkeepers. Parking on the Paseo de la Marina will be allowed 24 hours a day, although from eight in the morning until ten at night it will be limited to a maximum of two hours in order to facilitate the rotation of vehicles. Drivers will be required to write down the time of parking on a piece of paper and display it clearly on their dashboard. The spaces set aside for loading and unloading will be preserved to facilitate commercial activity in the area. More parking zones An additional parking zone will also be set up over the same period of time on Avenida de Santa Eulària, next to the Ribera Poniente quay, and in front of the Formentera Maritime Station and the Ibiza Sailing Club, as had been established in previous years. However, this car park will not have a parking time limit. These two new zones will make parking more convenient for the city's residents and offer alternatives for parking in the city during the winter months.

Port-city
Agreement reached to reorganise construction work dates on Palma's seafront promenade to meet residents' and business owners' demands

Agreement reached to reorganise construction work dates on Palma's seafront promenade to meet residents' and business owners' demands

24/11/2023

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and Palma City Council have reached an agreement with local groups who have been affected by Palma's promenade remodelling works to reschedule construction work dates to fall in line with residents' and business owners' demands. The most important change involves the relocation of the urban waste containers to the seaward side of the promenade. The different stakeholders received information at a meeting held this morning in the port of Palma. The president, Javier Sanz, was in attendance as well as the councillor for Urban Planning, Housing and Projects, Óscar Fidalgo, to announce how the works are progressing on schedule and that they will be completed at the beginning of 2025. Javier Sanz explained that an agreement has been reached to move the six banks of underground waste collection containers to the opposite side of the promenade. This decision came following requests from business and neighbourhood associations, who have agreed to do so to avoid any inconvenience to customers and passers-by on the land side of the promenade. Sanz defended this decision based on the APB's initial commitment to this project, which was launched with an innovative approach to stakeholder relations. Javier Sanz added, “We have three clear objectives in this strategy: to engage them in the project, to provide them with the appropriate information at each stage and to welcome and respond to their concerns and needs.” Stakeholders connected with Palma's Nou Passeig Marítim (New Promenade) project were selected according to the main sectors involved, which include residential, commerce, tourism, business and Palma's general public. As such, the main associations involved are ACOIPAM, CAEB, CAEB Restauración, ABONE, Federación de Asociaciones de vecinos de Palma (Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Palma), FEBT, Asociación de Vecinos del Paseo Marítimo (Association of Neighbours of the Promenade), ASHPAMA, AFEDECO, PIMECO, FEHM, AMTAT, AEVAB, PIMEM and APEAM. Previously completed work A major achievement over the first few months, and the least visible, is that 75% of the project's most costly installations have already been completed. These are EMAYA's main sewer mains and sewage and rainwater discharge networks. The Urban Planning Councillor, Óscar Fidalgo, thanked the municipal water company for its “diligence”. “We have stuck rigidly to the premise of listening to our neighbours in order to improve their lives,” he added. The APB covered the cost of private connections to the rainwater and sewage networks for shopkeepers, neighbours and hoteliers who have asked us to do so. Furthermore, this meeting announced that the first phase of the construction work is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2024, to avoid disruption during the Easter holidays and the start of the tourist season. At present, the pavements on the land side of the road are being laid in sections and based on each shop's requests for dates to avoid disrupting their business activities and to fit in with their closing and staff holiday schedules. A consensus has also been reached with shopkeepers on the type of sunshades and partitions for new terraces. In the coming weeks, the remaining furniture, such as chairs and tables, will be chosen to create a uniform style for the entire promenade. Finally, many requests for review and adaptation of terraces by shopkeepers and hoteliers have been dealt with, given the new distribution of terrace space by three square metre blocks. For more information, visit: noupasseigmaritimdepalma.portsdebalears.com

Port-city Transport and infrastructure
The APB is putting the shipyard adjacent to the fishing quay in the port of Ibiza out to tender for four years

The APB is putting the shipyard adjacent to the fishing quay in the port of Ibiza out to tender for four years

22/11/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma, to put out to tender the concession to manage the shipyard adjacent to the fishing quay in the port of Ibiza, for a renewable period of four years and an exit fee of around 122,000 euros per year. The short duration of the concession is due to the planned rollout of the port's Special Plan, which envisages the relocation of this port activity to another quay. The APB's planning for this area of the port of Ibiza foresees an underground car park with some 700 parking spaces, the construction of the new maritime terminal for maritime traffic from Formentera, the remodelling of the nautical facilities currently occupied by the Club Náutico de Ibiza and the transfer of the fishing sector activity and the shipyard to the current Commercial Docks. In order to do this, the port's Special Plan must be approved, and Ibiza Town Council has assured the APB that it will make it a top priority and take all the necessary steps to restart the proceedings. The space subject to tender consists of nearly nine thousand square metres of public port domain destined for maintenance and repair work on boats. The duration of the concession also provides for the possibility of two extensions of one year each. Renewal denied At the same meeting yesterday, the APB's Board of Directors agreed to deny Tanit Ibiza Port, S.A. the nine-year extension requested to continue operating the shipyard, which it holds until 30 November 2023. The APB is processing a temporary occupation authorisation, which will allow the current company to continue operating until the new contract is awarded.

Port-city Transport and infrastructure
The APB will award Marina Deportiva Menorca the Colàrsega concession in the port of Mahon

The APB will award Marina Deportiva Menorca the Colàrsega concession in the port of Mahon

22/11/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma, to propose the company Marina Deportiva Menorca, S.L., as the most advantageous solution in the public tender for the concession to manage the recreational moorings in the Colàrsega area of the port of Mahon. The decision will see the contract re-awarded to the company currently running the nautical facility, which guarantees mooring fees for small boats at subsidised prices. The tender specifications established an initial occupancy tax of 109,000 euros per year and an activity tax of 4% of turnover. In addition, Marina Deportiva Menorca proposed a fixed annual amount of 350,000 euros to supplement the occupancy and activity fees. The future concessionaire will invest more than six million euros in a part of the public port domain that covers more than 20,000 square metres of water surface, and will hold the contract for a period of 13 years.

Transport and infrastructure
Approval of the agreement between the APB and the CIME regarding the use of Isla Plana in the port of Mahon for marine sports

Approval of the agreement between the APB and the CIME regarding the use of Isla Plana in the port of Mahon for marine sports

22/11/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma, to approve the text of the agreement with the Island Council of Menorca (CIME) concerning the management of spaces and facilities on Isla Plana in the port of Mahon for use in marine sports. The agreement allows the CIME to enter into agreements with entities, sailing clubs and non-profit associations that wish to use these spaces. The APB and the CIME hope that the new accord will convert the area in the centre of the port of Mahon into a dedicated hub for the activities offered by nautical schools, such as sailing and canoeing, and other aquatic pursuits like scuba diving, among other sports. In addition, plans are underway to provide a benchmark centre for adapted water sports, with specialist facilities to meet the needs of users from this group. Under the agreement, the island administration will have access to a thousand square metre building and more than two thousand square metres of quay surface belonging to the APB, which it may use for marine water sports. The term of the agreement is six years, with the possibility of three one-year renewals.

Port-city Socio-economic development
The APB guarantees moorings for small pleasure craft at the El Molinar dock

The APB guarantees moorings for small pleasure craft at the El Molinar dock

22/11/2023

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed at its last meeting, held yesterday in Palma, to select Nautic Assets Developers Team, S.L. as the most advantageous solution in the public tender for the concession to manage the moorings for small boats of up to eight metres in length at the El Molinar dock. The tender specifications established an initial occupancy tax of 58,500 euros per year and an activity tax of 4% of turnover. In addition, Nautic Assets Developers Team have proposed a fixed annual amount of 68,000 euros to supplement the occupancy and activity fees. The future concessionaire will invest 672,000 euros to install new jetties and other facilities and will manage the concession for a term of 18 years. It will also take over the building, which will host a bar-cafeteria-restaurant on the ground floor and social and cultural activities on the first floor. The decision fulfils APB's commitment to maintaining the dimensions of El Molinar and the type of boats moored there, improving the integration between the port and the city, strengthening the port's sports facilities and continuing to offer subsidised moorings. Training centre Within the same dock, a 2,500 square metre area, known as Caló d'en Rigo, is occupied by newly constructed 600 square metre building, along with an esplanade and dry dock ramp that has been ceded to the Government of the Balearic Islands for the future construction of a marine sports training centre. The APB is currently waiting to receive the building project from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports. In regard to the building in the El Molinar marina, the refurbishment works are due for completion next spring. As it stands, the APB has already completed the slowest phase of strengthening the structure and has now begun to put the new installations in place. From the outset, the APB's intention has been to conserve the structure of the historic building, taking into account the urban planning conditions stipulated in the Special Plan for the Port of Palma, as well as the building's significant historical heritage and construction style. The actual state of the structure – which was much worse than expected – led to a slowdown in the works and forced an increase in the budget to 1.2 million euros. Lastly, the APB will soon put out to tender, as a matter of urgency, the contract to dredge the seabed of the El Molinar dock to extract the 1,400 cubic metres of rock and sand that have been awaiting removal since the completion of the works in 2020.

Port-city Transport and infrastructure
New landscaped area with shade and seating on the Ribera Quay in the Port of Ibiza

New landscaped area with shade and seating on the Ribera Quay in the Port of Ibiza

20/11/2023

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has begun work to renovate the area around the storm tank on the Ribera Quay in the Port of Ibiza as part of an overarching project to improve the integration between the port and the city, upgrade the surroundings, and provide new spaces for the public. The initiative is intended to enhance the attractiveness of the space around the storm tank, which was installed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge and is managed by the Balearic Islands’ Water and Environmental Quality Agency (ABAQUA). Specifically, green spaces made up of large planters filled with foliage will be created in the area close to the Gent de la Mar monument. Elsewhere on the quay, modular concrete benches will be installed to form a large raised bed that will be planted with native shrubs, and three metal-framed pergolas with wooden roofs will be added to provide more shade for the area, along with other urban fixtures and fittings, such as litter bins. The project has a budget of 227,718.12 euros plus VAT and is scheduled for completion by the 1st of March 2024.

Port-city
More than 8.5 tonnes of waste removed from Eivissa port waters over the last three years

More than 8.5 tonnes of waste removed from Eivissa port waters over the last three years

03/11/2023

Since the launch of a special water surface cleaning service in October 2020, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB as per its Spanish acronym) has collected 8.5 tonnes of waste from Eivissa port's waters. The port has three energy self-sufficient, cutting-edge vessels which maintain the water surface clean, while promoting carbon footprint reduction. From October 2020 to July 2023, 4,500 kilos (53%) of the nearly 8,500 kilos of waste removed from Eivissa port waters is refuse-type material (paper, wood and others), while 2,300 kilos (27%) of the waste is organic. Plastics made up 1,700 kilos, just over 20 percent of the total amount collected. By way of illustration, the amount of plastics collected over this period of time from Eivissa port waters would fill 28 igloo-type street recycling containers. Sorting by origin For the first time, this innovative waste collection system makes it possible to determine where the waste arriving at Eivissa port comes from. As such, the data show that the majority, almost 40%, is land-based. This normally refers to waste which is blown into the port waters by the wind or which has been intentionally dumped. 24% of the waste originates offshore, which includes material that been carried by wind or currents into the sheltered waters of the port. This may come from ships or from other land-based areas outside the port. Waste from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) comes in third place, with more than 19%. This is represented by waste from the sewage network or from existing wastewater treatment plants that flow into the port and cause unpleasant odours. Around 16% of the waste collected comes from recreational boating, and finally 4 % is generated by fishing activities. Three vessels Patena Pitiusas is the company in charge of cleaning an area of approximately 818,000 square metres of water surface in Eivissa port and 53,000 square metres in La Savina port. The cleaning equipment has three energy self-sufficient vessels. One of them is equipped with a large hydraulic central scoop, which can pick up objects ranging from 10 millimetres to one tonne. The second is a fast-action hybrid inflatable dinghy. The fleet is enhanced by a two-metre surface cleaning drone and a 250-litre marine waste collection basket with an 8-hour operating time, designed to reach the most difficult-to-access areas between jetties and boats.

Environment and CSR Technology and innovation