The hinterland of the Port of Santander and thus the entire industry of Cantabria will benefit from the investment of more than 20 million euros that Boluda Maritime Terminals has made in this logistics platform.
The Corporation’s subsidiary officially opened its doors today at an event that brought together more than 250 guests who were able to see firsthand how the new facilities work.
Santander 30-03-23. The president of Boluda Corporación Marítima, Vicente Boluda, has shown “his pride” for “participating in a new professional journey that will connect Cantabria with the world” by increasing the connections of the port of Santander “through the arrival and departure of goods in container ships, thus improving the logistics chain of the companies”. The businessman also assured that this investment will contribute to “the creation of quality jobs with a vision for the future in the region” and to the development of innovative solutions “that will help us to achieve efficiency and make Santander a benchmark enclave in port sustainability”.
In his speech during the event, Francisco Martín, president of the APS, pointed out that “after three decades working for Santander to have container traffic” we have to thank the president of Boluda Corporación Marítima “for betting on us with an investment of twenty million euros in what is the main infrastructure of the Autonomous Community”. Martín also stated that the new terminal “will serve to strengthen the economy of Cantabrian companies by shortening their logistics chains and making them more competitive”.
The president of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Revilla, expressed himself along the same lines, thanking the president of Boluda Corporación Marítima, Vicente Boluda, for his confidence in Cantabria, predicted “a great future” for the port of Santander and explained that port traffic will increase by one million tons per year, which will “probably” surpass this year’s historical record of 6.7 million tons in 2021. Revilla also referred to the La Pasiega Industrial Park and assured that it will be “the perfect complement for the development of the port”.
Vicente Boluda emphasized “the lack of powerful railway corridors that link the whole of Spain to achieve the full potential of our country” and assured that “at least we will do our best to develop connections across the seas” as demonstrated by the inauguration of this terminal.
The Government delegate in Cantabria, Ainoa Quiñones, stressed in her speech that “this container terminal begins a stage of greater momentum and economic development in the most important infrastructure we have, this Port of Santander with more than 150 years of history”. In addition, she thanked for the development of this project that will provide the Cantabria industry “with a greater competitiveness in the market and that means that today we have a Port of Santander prepared to face the challenges of the future”.
The president of State Ports, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, said in his speech that “with this terminal, the port of Santander is consolidating its strategy of diversification of traffic towards general cargo, adding value to the logistics chain”.
Javier López Marcano, Councilor of Industry and Vice President of the APS, stressed that the new logistics enclave that is being launched today “will be a before and after, and will mark the beginning of a new stage for the port of Santander”.
“We start from magnificent figures,” said the counselor, reminding that Cantabria exported products last year for an amount of 3,510.2 million euros, representing an increase of 18.3% over the previous year, and in 2022 were 2,967.2 million euros, 20.4% more than in 2021.
First stage
The ISABELLA B, one of the latest generation feeder vessels in the Boluda Lines fleet, inaugurated the terminal’s berthing line on the 29th at 17h.
Coinciding with the event, the container ship made nearly 200 unloading operations from 11:00 a.m.
It is worth noting that the vessel supports 45′ HCPW equipment in all positions and is equipped with more than 250 reefer connections.
Boluda Maritime Terminals Santander
Boluda Maritime Terminals currently has nine maritime terminals along the Spanish coast. Last February it started a new service in Arrecife, and with the closing of its works in Santander, it now incorporates more than 60,000 square meters of facilities in the Cantabria region.
Boluda Maritime Terminals Santander’s commitment is to be able to maintain a minimum annual import and export traffic of at least 35,000 TEUs during the first five years of the concession and, after that year, 44,823 TEUs per year.
Construction and investment
The logistics platform has been completed as planned and will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2023.
In 2020, the Board of Directors of the Santander Port Authority awarded the concession of the works executed by Dragados and the operation of the terminal to Boluda Maritime Terminals.
The project, which has involved an investment of nearly 20 million euros in civil works, installations, construction and the purchase of machinery, has been developed with a strong focus on sustainability and environmental efficiency. Among the machinery incorporated for the development of the operations are eco-reach stackers and electric cranes. During construction, solar panels have been installed to power the offices and access control. In addition, automatic doors have been installed at the terminal’s entry and exit points to allow efficient access management.
The logistics platform occupies an area of 67,000 square meters and has a berthing line of 472 meters of quay.
