It is starting to reap the rewards and will receive 13,000 cruise passengers on 18 ships in 2016.
The Port of Tarragona plans to have the temporary cruise terminal operational in 2019 at the Prats dock, which will allow it to grow in this segment and overcome the limitations offered by the Llevant dock, where cruise ships that make occasional stops in the Tarragona port enclave currently dock.
In an interview with Europa Press, the president of the Port of Tarragona, Josep Andreu, explained that the plan is to take advantage of the works on the Prats dock, in front of the pier operated by Repsol, next to La Pineda beach and very close to Port Aventura, and extend the breakwater to accommodate the terminal.
The installation of the dock is linked to the construction of the counter-breakwater, whose technical project has already been drafted and, after passing all the environmental procedures, it is expected that the works will begin in 2017 and be completed in 2019, "being optimistic".
The Port of Tarragona will close out 2015, after three years of promoting the city as a cruise destination, with 11,600 cruise passengers and 11 ships, and for 2016 it expects to receive up to 13,000 passengers on 18 cruises: "These are still modest figures, but very encouraging."
40 million euros allocated
The dock works, for which the Port Authority of Tarragona (APT) has already blocked a budget of 40 million euros, would consist of the construction of two esplanades: one for the industrial cargo project and another multipurpose area of between 40 and 60 square meters that could be used for cruise ships and ferries.
This new cruise terminal would respond to the progressive growth in cruise passengers that is expected, since, according to Andreu, the current facilities have a maximum capacity of 30,000 cruise passengers per year.
“Our commitment is to an intermediate terminal to grow the project, and when we have a critical mass of about 50,000 or 60,000 cruise passengers, we can then think about a definitive terminal, since we will have the guarantees of filling it,” he stated.
Future projects
Thus, if the strategy to attract cruise passengers is successful and this critical mass is reached, APT's plans involve a more definitive solution based on building an urban terminal next to the Tarragona Marina, a project that would entail an investment of between 80 and 120 million euros.
The cruise project is led by the Port of Tarragona, and the working group includes the Tarragona Provincial Council Tourism Board, the Tarragona City Council Tourism Board, the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce and the Reus City Council, in addition to the collaboration of the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) and PortAventura.
Andreu explained that his intention is to include a member of the hospitality, as he believes that Tarragona has the potential to become a home port, and not just a stopover port as it has been until now.
