Valencia expansion on track

The port authority pointed to a recently-secured ¢74m European Commission Cohesion Fund subsidy for the North Extension of the Port of Valencia Project as confirmation of the project’s continued viability.

Valencia has already completed 600 m of embankment section for the main breakwater and a 14 hectare esplanade for ancillary facilities. The extension will increase the port’s surface area by 1.5m m² and double its current container handling capacity.

The economic climate has so far been kind to the Spanish port. For the first time in its history, the port of Valencia has handled more transhipment containers than import-export boxes. The former became the pre-eminent traffic in March this year, having risen by 15% over the last five quarters.

Originally, boxes rotated in and out by sea accounted for just 35% of Valencia’s traffic; they have now topped the 50% mark.

Despite the global downturn, box traffic at the port has risen by 5% overall this year.