El Puerto de Almería will open four more hectares to the city

The Port of Almería will add four more hectares of citizen use in the coming weeks. The Port Authority of Almería (APA) will then award the main phase of urban integration, an action of almost 25 million euros co-financed with the Junta de Andalucía and with a two-year execution period. That phase is added to the two hectares already open to the city in the levante area, together with the recovery of historical port heritage, with an investment of 11 million euros. In total, the APA will have invested more than 45 million euros in the port-city opening between 2023 and 2029, as detailed by its president, Rosario Soto. The opening extends to the entire port front. In poniente, the Varadero building has been rehabilitated and architectural barriers have been removed. For 2027, a new façade of the maritime station and the annexed buildings is planned, with improved energy efficiency and pedestrian communication between the port and the city.

In parallel, the APA will award in the coming days the expansion of the Muelle de Pechina, with a planned investment of 30 million euros, of which six come from European funds from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 2021-2027. The work begins in January and will last two years: it will extend the berthing line by 260 metres, reach 18 metres of draft and gain 4.4 hectares of surface area. To this is added the direct access from the N-340 and the reordering of internal roads, already executed, with three million euros. These improvements have favoured the attraction of metal industry and agricultural auxiliary industry, with an increase in the export of general cargo and solid bulk, especially gypsum. Passenger traffic moves one million travellers a year and places the port as the second in the national system in the Operation Crossing the Strait. In 2028 it will have a new passenger service area with commercial and restaurant space, after the administrative concession granted this summer. Soto has presented these projects at the World Conference of Ports and Cities 2026, organised by the International Association of Ports and Cities (AIVP) in Dunkerque, with 400 delegations from 50 countries.