The Port Authority of Las Palmas has launched a public tender to select a company interested in investing and managing a new cruise ship terminal in the port of Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), in addition to improving the current facilities in the ports of Arrecife (Lanzarote) and Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura).
According to the port authority, the aim is “to build on the strength of the existing network by enhancing both quality and competitiveness to meet the demands and challenges faced by the cruise ship industry.”
The port authority currently handles more than 500 cruise ships and 1.5 million cruise passengers a year, a number that has doubled in the last decade and continues to grow.
“The new facilities will ensure the continuity of current operations and contribute to attracting future traffic,” it wrote.
The new public cruise ship terminal in Las Palmas, together with the facilities in the ports of Arrecife and Rosario, must operate as public terminals open to general traffic, the Port Authority of Las Palmas said.
This setup would be in line with those that already operate in the Spanish ports of Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia.
The necessary investment is estimated between 20 and 25 million euros, and the concession for a period of up to 40 years. The deadline for submitting a tender is 30 June.
The Board of Directors at the port authority will choose a winner for fall 2021, which would continue throughout 2022 with projects and licenses over a period of works estimated at three years.
According to the press release, the ports within the Port Authority of Las Palmas have carried out an important program of investments in infrastructure and facilities in them in the last decade to “ensure the smooth operation of the growing cruise ship traffic and meet the demands of larger vessels.”
“By providing the most demanding sanitary protocols, the port of Las Palmas had the distinction of being the operating base for European cruise ships when they restarted their activities in October 2020. As a result, the international tourist destinations serviced by the ports of Las Palmas, Puerto del Rosario and Arrecife, were capable of providing the most rigorous health safety conditions,” the port authority added.
