The Port of Ibiza will invest more than 20 million euros in improvement works

The Balearic Port Authority (APB) will carry out, directly and indirectly through private initiative, half a dozen works budgeted at more than 20 million euros in the Port of Ibiza, coinciding with the low season and with the intention of minimally interfering with the summer campaign. The common goal of these actions, which will begin shortly, is to minimize the environmental impact of port activity, following the APB's environmental strategy.

On November 4, the works will begin to adapt the Ribera de Poniente road at the Port of Ibiza. This action involves the integration of the Avenida de Santa Eulària from the Formentera maritime station to the APB offices. To avoid interfering with the works, several temporary detours will be set up for pedestrians as a safety measure.

The aim of the adaptation works, which have an eight-month deadline, is to improve the accessibility of the area and calm motor vehicle traffic. In this way, a new bike lane will be constructed, which will connect with the existing one in the area of the platforms at the Port of Ibiza. A pedestrian sidewalk and a separation flowerbed between the pedestrian area and the bike path will also be included. Additionally, a new landscaped and wooded area will be created, just as LED lighting equipment will be installed, and new urban furniture will be incorporated.

The project falls within the APB's strategic line of integrating the port into the city, to turn it into a space open to the citizens. To execute it, the port entity signed an agreement with the Ibiza City Council, since part of the works will be carried out on municipal land.

The total budget for the works is 1.2 million euros without VAT. Of this, 140,000 euros (VAT included) correspond to the actions carried out in the municipal area. The works have been awarded to the company Hermanos Parrot SA.

In November, the installation of new escalators at the Botafoc docks will also begin, replacing the existing ones, as well as the adaptation of the fixed gangways for boarding and disembarking passengers. These actions, with a budget of 2.6 million euros, are carried out to improve the comfort and safety conditions of the passengers, as well as to renew those elements affected by the deterioration of the marine environment.

Thus, two new escalators (one up and one down) will be installed at the end of the fixed gangway near the Botafoc breakwater, replacing the four already existing ones, and a new elevator will be placed. The project also includes covering all the escalator sections with canopies to protect them from the weather. The canopies, railings, and paving of the fixed gangways will also be replaced, as they show some deterioration due to their proximity to the sea.

The works have been awarded to the company Valor Infraestructura, will last seven months, and will be carried out in sections, as the port operations on the docks will be maintained at all times.

Another major action that the APB will soon start in the Port of Ibiza is the improvement of the energy efficiency of public lighting, with a budget of 1.5 million euros financed by the European Union through the Next Generation funds.

The new installation will improve lighting levels with low-energy light points and will reduce the number of control panels, lowering the cost of the electricity bill by more than half. It will also contribute to sustainability and promote environmental protection by reducing energy consumption and minimizing light pollution.

The intervention will be both in restricted access areas and in open spaces to the public that, for reasons of use and safety, require different lighting levels. The works have been awarded to the company Vilor Infrastructures, S.L., will be developed over the next nine months, and will directly employ 25 people.

On the part of the private initiative, IGY Ibiza Marina, the concessionaire managing the moorings for large lengths in the Levante dock of the Port of Ibiza, will undertake an action for the electrical connection to land for vessels. This is an investment of 4.2 million euros, conditioned to the investment offer committed to the APB for the eight-year concession term.

This improvement will allow yachts to turn off their engines while moored, with the consequent reduction in atmospheric and acoustic pollution. The action also includes the conditioning of the ground floor of the Martell building, as well as the repair of the gangways adjacent to the breakwater or Muro del puerto de Ibiza.

According to data provided by IGY Ibiza Marina, the work is expected to last eight months and will directly employ 55 people. While the VAB and the total socioeconomic impact generated between 2025 and 2033 by the concessionaire's activity have been estimated at 30.4 million euros (3.3 million per year), it will generate direct employment for 15 people and an indirect and induced employment of more than 300 people.

In addition to these imminent start works, the APB plans other interventions in the coming months aimed at the use of renewable energies such as the reduction of gas emissions to the atmosphere.

In this regard, the works for the installation of the first two points of electrical connection to land for ships at the Botafoc docks are about to be awarded for 6 million euros, which will allow ferries to turn off their engines and use grid electricity while docked, reducing emissions of polluting gases and noise in the ports.

Furthermore, the APB will launch a pilot project, in collaboration with State Ports and with a budget of 2 million euros, for a wave energy installation in the Port of Ibiza to use the energy of wave motion to generate electricity. It is a renewable source that leverages the natural resource without exhausting marine ecosystems.

Finally, at the beginning of 2025, the APB will proceed with the installation of pergolas with photovoltaic panels in the parking lot of the Botafoc docks, with an estimated budget of one million euros and with the aim of using the canopies to provide shade to vehicles while installing panels that allow generating clean electricity with no direct CO2 emissions.