The greater infrastructure in Barcelona, the port, suffers the economic effects of the pandemic in an intense way. But it is already working to reactivate itself and serve the business fabric of its area of influence and the city and its people. Its president, Mercè Conesa, is optimistic, although she is prudent and patient.
How is this crisis impacting in the port?
Much. In the first four months of the year, global merchandise traffic fell by 11.7%. And only in April, 84% in automobile transport and 23% in containers. There is less activity and less income, of course.
How can recovery be promoted?
We are working on it. First, reinforcing the hinterland, the transport of many goods (food, feed, paper …) has not stopped and in this area exports have held up well. We also want to strengthen ourselves as a gateway to Asia and for this we seek an alliance with a port there. And we will apply countercyclical measures, with public spending, bonuses to dealers and maintaining the investments of 70 million euros that were planned for this 2020.
Will the cruises return?
Yes. But it does not depend only on the port. States must open borders, the airport should resume its activity because most cruise passengers arrive by plane, and operators must also get going. We are prepared as infrastructure, but you have to be patient. We have a plan to recover the 2019 cruise numbers in a three-year period, between 2021 and 2023.
Port Vell begins to wake up ...
It is a great citizen space for the walk, the restoration …, which has been totally affected. Little by little, it will normalize. We have reduced 75% of the rate of the terrace fees, as in the rest of the city. But the first thing is the safety of people, you have to follow the rules of each phase of de-escalation and in the coming months incorporate new habits such as the use of the mask or enjoy more outdoor spaces than indoors, which does not They may become congested.
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