New step for cruise ships to run on electricity when they dock in Barcelona and to stop burning polluting fuels. The administration council of the port has approved this Wednesday to start the bidding procedure for the construction of a battery of seven underground pipes that will connect the Energia and Adossat docks. It is a complex work because the pipes will cross the navigation channel, 700 meters long, and will go to a depth of 32 meters below sea level. The project that has been approved has a base budget of 15 million euros (VAT excluded) and an execution period of 28 months.
This is a necessary work to guarantee the arrival of basic services to the Adossat wharf, which is being expanded to, mainly, concentrate all cruise activity with seven terminals, two of which are pending construction. Thanks to this connection, it will be possible to install the medium voltage network that will allow electricity to reach the ships, as specified by the Nexigen dock electrification project, which foresees a total investment of 110 million euros.
The opening of the Nord entrance in 2003 turned the Adossat wharf into an island only accessible by land via the Porta bridge. At that time, a service gallery was built under the navigation channel of this last maritime access to guarantee the arrival at the dock of the water, electricity and communication services.
The expansion of the Adossat dock that is currently being carried out will require expanding the service networks, especially the electricity supply to give enough power to the ships when they connect once they are docked, as foreseen in the plan. For this reason, the need has been raised to build the aforementioned new underground pipes that will pass under the southern access channel of the port and that will connect the Energia and Adosado docks.
To provide the port with the necessary power to electrify the docks, a new electrical substation is being tendered with a budget of 14 million euros, which includes drafting the project, the works themselves, as well as its commissioning and maintenance during the first two years. The forecast is that this infrastructure will be ready in 2025.