The President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, inaugurated this Friday the renovation and expansion of the port of Playa Blanca. The head of the Executive highlighted in his speech the quality of the final result of the project, which began five years ago, "the effort made to obtain the 45 million euros necessary for this long-awaited intervention; the improvement it represents in safety, connectivity between the south of Lanzarote and the north of Fuerteventura, and comfort of users and operators, together with the fact that, in attention to the Government's fight against climate change, it is already the first infrastructure of this type that is fully sustainable, even in the materials used, within the Canary Islands Port Network".
At the inauguration, which was attended by the Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands and Minister of Finance, Budgets and European Affairs, Román Rodríguez; the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing, Sebastián Franquis; the President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Dolores Corujo, and the Mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Manuel Noda, among other authorities, Sebastián Franquis recalled that "85% of the resources used in this project come from the European Regional Development Fund".
With the new expansion, as highlighted at the event, "the safety of the port and the services provided to its current million users are improved, mainly travelers on ferries that use this dock annually, the second in number of passengers in the Network of Autonomous Ports, after that of Agaete, on the island of Gran Canaria".
In his speech, President Torres stressed that, "during 2022 and in line with the intense economic and tourist recovery that the Canary Islands has experienced after the different waves of the pandemic, the port of Playa Blanca returned to one million users and he was convinced that that figure will increase during this 2023".
The president highlighted the importance of the fact that, after the effects of covid-19 in 2020 and 2021, the inauguration of works has been recovered, "in this case, also, with a job well done after five years of intervention and even more time preparing the project." Torres considers it "very striking" that the works were not paralyzed even during the worst stage of confinement and believes this intervention is key to continue improving connectivity between the two islands. "It is a day, therefore, to be happy. We have great connectivity in the Canary Islands thanks to social effort and parliamentary and political achievements -he added-, and we still have to improve what is exemplary today."
“These works make us look to the future with optimism”
Torres stressed that, "in those difficult times of confinement and restrictions, companies such as Naviera Armas, Fred Olsen and others in the air sector of the islands made a great effort to maintain connectivity, despite the fact that it meant tremendous losses, something that did not happen with that intensity and private commitment in other archipelagos".
In his opinion, "this shows that we have a Community that is a leader in making difficult decisions in very complicated moments." In addition, Torres believes that the quality reflected in this port expansion, due to what it contributes in comfort, materials and operability of the berths, the new parking lot or the station, "makes us look to the future with optimism, moving forward in investment and protecting those who have positive ideas for our land, in addition to fighting to ensure that no investment that helps improve the lives of the people of the Canary Islands is stopped".
For the president, this renovated port of Playa Blanca "puts the people of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura on the right track for better connectivity, reinforces the maritime highway between both islands and is achieved with a job well done".
For his part, the regional minister stated that "today a dream is fulfilled, a dream of many years ago, more than 20 years ago, when the first lines of the future expansion of the port of Playa Blanca began to be written. A dream that comes true in Playa Blanca, for the municipality of Yaiza, for Lanzarote and also for all of the Canary Islands. A dream that is fulfilled betting on sustainability, accessibility and, especially, on port security. It is a port that ultimately achieves quality and excellence in the tourism sector and also in the maritime sector of this island and the Canary Islands as a whole".
Franquis, however, pointed out that "the effort of the Ministry to modernize and improve the ports does not end here, far from it. Now, our objective is to update and incorporate the quality, safety and sustainability of this port that we are inaugurating today on the other side of this maritime highway between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, precisely in the port of Corralejo, where we are already preparing a project with an investment of 40 million euros".
Segregation of traffic and more space and security
"The objective of the expansion project, which began in 2017, has been to reorganize the dock that was already part of the port and expand the facilities with a new dike to the south to segregate the traffic of passenger ships from those of sports and fishing boats, which results in greater safety both in the docking operations of the ferries and in those of the yachts and fishing boats", they point out from the Ministry.
The construction of the new dike allows the outer dock to have capacity for three berths with a ramp of lengths of 300 meters, 142 meters and 100 meters, and for a bottom berth of 75 meters. The berths have more than 11,000 square meters of service esplanades.
Other characteristics of the new facilities
"The new port, which has been entering service in sections for a year, has already demonstrated the multiple benefits it is providing to the community that regularly uses the facilities, both passengers and services and goods. After the expansion, fishermen and recreational boats gain in safety and space since the docking area of the original dock will be exclusively for this type of boat. The port will also have 155 new docking areas for sports boats", they point out from the Ministry.
The passenger ships are concentrated in the new dock built to the south of the dock, since the new dike increases the passenger reception capacity reaching almost one million in 2022 and with more than 320,000 vehicles between cars and industrial transport. The new breakwater, with 300 meters in length, has allowed the different passenger shipping companies that operate in the port to now have more room to maneuver, which translates into greater safety for travelers and better loading capacity for larger vehicles such as those of goods.
One of the main attractions of the new port is the eco-sustainable station, which in addition to being an open space that takes advantage of natural air currents for ventilation without the need for air conditioning, also follows the predominant aesthetic on the island respecting the legacy of César Manrique, while offering passengers, tourists and shipping company personnel a modern and diaphanous terminal that will contribute to the development of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The new terminal occupies 1,800 square meters and will house two commercial premises, nine offices, a toilet area and a restaurant.
The parking area will also be improved with an increase in capacity and with six charging points for electric vehicles. Specifically, there will be two parking spaces, one with 85 spaces in the sports dock area and the one attached to the new terminal with space for another 190 more vehicles. The charging area can be used by up to four vehicles at a time. There will also be space for buses and four taxis, as well as a quick passenger loading and unloading area next to the new terminal building.
