The recently introduced National Spanish Reform Programme now allows the private sector to invest, through PPPs, in the management of state-owned ports currently administered by the National Ports Authority.
This flies in the face of previous comments made by José Llorca, the head of the Authority, who has always indicated doubts that this could be successfully undertaken as well as stressing that no such policy existed.
Nevertheless, against a backdrop of greater deregulation in the industry, he recently conceded that ways to reduce the maximum price charged for port services were being investigated, while complaints had also come in from the Port of Valencia regarding tug services.
Significantly, Rafael Catalá, the secretary of state for Planning and Infrastructure at the Development Ministry, announced that there would soon be a cost reduction in ports, since both Sines and Tanger-Med were providing strong competition and that no traffic should be regarded as “captive” to Spanish ports.
“Our fight for cost reductions is going to be a permanent one,” he said.
