Valencia to build fifth box terminal

Interested parties will have to partially finance construction of the facility, although public investment of ?396.3m is also earmarked.

The new terminal, which will be built in the northern extension area of the port, will involve extensive reclamation work. The initial facility will consist of 1,350 metres of quay and backup land of 112 hectares. From 2015, an additional 75 hectares of land will also be added to the concession, according to Port Authority president Rafael Aznar.

On April 19, a tender was issued in respect of the environmental impact study covering the new operational area, which will require construction of an outer breakwater. This work, which is scheduled to start in early 2009, will take two years to complete. According to Mr Aznar, a future operator could either be an established shipping line or an international stevedoring group. As for the type of concession, nothing, he claimed, had yet been ruled out.