Transport invests 1,775 million to improve rail and road connections in Algeciras

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, announced this Thursday investments of 1,775 million euros to strengthen the Port of Algeciras (Cádiz) “as a gateway to Europe and the Mediterranean.”

In this way, Puente has ratified the commitment of the Government and the Ministry to the development of the infrastructure of Algeciras and, above all, the city’s port, whose function as an intercontinental logistics platform is “strategic for the country and for all of Europe.” .

On a visit to the Algeciras port, he explained that the Ministry of Transport is working to renew and create road and railway infrastructure with the aim of making the connectivity of the city and the port on the land side comparable to the maritime one and thus enhancing mutually, prioritizing the decarbonization of transportation.

In this sense, he recalled that the port, due to its strategic location, is the gateway to southern Europe for commercial traffic from Africa and America, it has maritime routes to more than 200 ports in 75 countries and has crossed the barrier of 100 million tons per year of freight traffic, a fifth of the country’s total.

The plan to modernize and reinforce the railway and road connections that will determine the future of the port and the city of Algeciras pivots on three main axes, as explained.

The first of them would be the Master Plan for the Algeciras-Bobadilla line, which the minister presented this Thursday, “fulfilling the commitment assumed by the Ministry”, and which seeks to provide certainty to businessmen and logistics operators. The Plan includes investments of 472.7 million euros.

Another of the axes is the promotion of the Algeciras-Zaragoza railway highway with the execution of actions for 468 million euros, which will allow the 1,074-kilometer freight corridor designed for 740-meter trains to become fully operational; while the third axis is in the actions to improve road access in the area of ??Algeciras, with 287 million euros of investment underway.

It is, he pointed out, a road and railway action plan of 1,228 million euros (VAT included), which will be complemented with another series of road actions that will improve the connection of Algeciras with Cádiz, Seville and Málaga, allowing traffic to improve. of travelers and goods to the interior of the peninsula and along the Mediterranean, and with which the total amount invested amounts to 1,775 million euros (VAT included).

“They are road and railway infrastructures that will allow goods to travel through the logistics chain in a more sustainable and decarbonized way and that will enhance the economic development of Algeciras and the entire Campo de Gibraltar, which has always been a priority issue for this Government” , assured the Minister of Transport, who added that “if I am in politics it is to do and not to be. This has always been my way of conceiving public service.”

The Master Plan for the Algeciras-Bobadilla line contemplates an investment of 472.7 million euros, of which 60% has already been mobilized between completed projects, tendered or in the process of being awarded, as explained. In addition, he has indicated that it is planned to complete all the works associated with the Plan throughout this legislature, which “is now closer than ever since the public information of the Informative Study of the electrification of the Bobadilla-Ronda section has already been resolved. “.

Thus, as the minister has announced, the Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) has already been sent to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge for final processing.

The objective of the Master Plan, which “advances exponentially with more than 100 million euros tendered in 2023 alone”, is to renew and electrify the line so that it is interoperable based on European parameters and that allows reaching maximum speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. hour.

“The Plan has a strategic nature for El Campo de Gibraltar, Andalusia and Spain as a whole, since it is part of the central branch of the Mediterranean and Atlantic corridors and the railway highway to Zaragoza,” said Óscar Puente.

Likewise, he has indicated that the Ministry, through Adif, has investments of 468 million euros on the table to adapt the railway infrastructure to the needs of freight transport and, thus, activate its full potential as a railway highway.

In this sense, throughout the first half of 2024, tenders and actions will be taken to expand the gauges in tunnels and overpasses, and enable sidings and tracks for 750-meter-long trains in 14 stations.

This investment in the infrastructure itself is complemented by the 83 million euros in aid from the Recovery Plan granted to companies for the acquisition of electric wagons and locomotives, within the framework of the Support Program for sustainable and digital transport, as indicated by the Ministry .

Likewise, he explained the improvement of the road infrastructure that includes actions on the southern access and the improvement of the northern access to the port, the construction of the outer Algeciras bypass, to channel long-distance traffic between N-340 and A- 351/A-7, and the increase in capacity of the A-7 to San Roque (extension to third lane).

These works have a budget of 287 million euros, of which 41.9 million euros of work is already being carried out and there are 80 million euros in projects in tender. Specifically, as indicated, the project to reform the southern access to the Port of Algeciras is being carried out.

In addition, he added that the Ministry has more projects underway such as the development of the Botafuegos external terminal. Thus, work is being done with the Port Authority to optimize its railway capacity and avoid maneuvers in the entrance and exit areas, which hinder road traffic and limit its possibility of growth and functionality.

During his speech, the minister insisted on the need to design corrective and preventive measures that guarantee application of the maritime ETS without undermining European commercial sovereignty and the competitiveness of our ports.

In this sense, Óscar Puente explained that Spain has been the first country to defend the inclusion of the “transparent port” figure in community regulations. With it, calls or transhipments in a non-European port located less than 300 miles from an EU port and whose container transshipment activity exceeds 65% will also be subject to the emissions trading regime.

Furthermore, it is essential to make use of the review mechanism provided for in the Directive to monitor and establish preventive measures that can be quickly implemented when an imminent threat is detected. A mechanism that was introduced thanks to the work of Spain, he recalled.

“We share the objective that the maritime sector reduces its emissions by 55% in 2030 and that it reaches climate neutrality in 2050. But if we are not guilty of something, it is naivety. We are aware that the regulations can cause leaks of calls to non-European ports “For this reason, neither the Government of Spain nor this minister are going to look the other way on a matter,” the minister assured before explaining that, during their meeting, the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vãlean, conveyed her position and concern about.