ESPO award goes to Algeciras

Adina Vălean, EU Commissioner for Transport, announced the ESPO Award Winner during a dedicated ESPO Award Digital Ceremony on Tuesday 10 November.

“Port of Algeciras Bay Authority has been working really hard in the last years in order to consolidate innovation culture as a key business process. And this prize shows us that we are on the right path. In addition to that, this award is so inspiring for us that it will make us work even harder, to boost social integration through innovation,” said Gerardo Landaluce, Chairman of the Port of Algeciras.

Forward thinking

The Port of Algeciras won the 2020 Award for its project, “The Journey of Innovation – Travesía de la Innovación”. Algeciras is on a transformational pathway from the port authority being landlord, operator and regulator to also become a business and efficiency partner.

It has an open innovation portal, organises innovation days, seminars and innovation awards and a port data lab which it gifts to start ups. The port partners with the municipality and the regional government and is developing a connected innovation centre with the university.

Looking back at the selection process in this 12th edition of the ESPO Award, the Chairman of the Jury, Pat Cox said: “Algeciras was the jury’s consensual choice, in the end, because it has developed a successful strategy to attract innovation and local start-ups; has a proven record of achievement; has a strong focus on involving port partners and has exhibited close cooperation with key national, regional and municipal stakeholders, thus underpinning its successful innovation ecosystem.”

Out of the seven submissions received this year, the projects of Algeciras Port Authority (Spain), Port of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Port Authority of Lisbon (Portugal) and Puertos del Estado (Spain) had been shortlisted for the award.