The state-owned company of Spain, Puertos del Estado (State Ports) has issued a ‘Favourable Report’ for the construction of a container quay of the northern extension of the Port of Valencia.
The conclusions of the report state that “the works included in the project fulfill the required functions in relation to the improvement of competitiveness of the Port of Valencia in containerised goods traffic, through the execution of a new functional and operational container terminal that completes the northern extension of the port.”
The report also makes some final prescriptions and recommendations to the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), when approving the construction project for the northern container terminal that Valenciaport will incorporate in the coming weeks.
In addition, the document indicates that the PAV, “as the promoter and substantive body of the action, must issue a certification that the project does not need to be submitted to a new environmental procedure, prior to its approval,” a usual requirement to the body promoting the works, which is requested from the port authorities.
The project, as reflected by State Ports, includes all the necessary elements of judgement to issue said certification, according to a statement. Therefore, the report received once again supports the criterion that a new environmental impact study is not necessary, as none of the assumptions of Law 21/2013 on environmental assessment are breached.
The company also stated that the project must be completed with the characterisation of the materials to be dredged in the Port of Sagunto, an aspect that the PAV will present in the coming weeks. This observation refers to the carrying out of tests to analyse the seabed material to be dredged.
It also indicates that the consolidation times that appear in the project after the anchoring and filling of caissons and after the execution of the preloading on the new esplanade are considered minimum times and should be included in the specifications for the contracting of the works so that they can be considered by the bidders.
Puertos del Estado recommended “reconsidering the junction of the container quay, maintaining the level of the last caisson at -20 metres, the same as the rest of the quay and resolving the junction with a submerged concrete section that bridges the two-metre difference between the quay and the breakwater.”
Finally, the report issued by State Ports suggests concluding the trial on small container ships to ensure the operability of the terminal for the widest possible fleet of container ships.
