Puertos del Estado (State Ports Authority) is bringing together the Spanish port system of general interest in Santander on July 22nd and 23rd, 2020, to agree on its development strategy for the next ten years. This agreement will be formalized in a new Strategic Framework to ensure the optimal positioning of Spanish ports within the transport and logistics networks of the future.
The 'Seminar on the analysis of the strategic development model' takes place at the Magdalena Palace - with the collaboration of the Port Authority of Santander - and constitutes a milestone for the port system, thus closing a process of analysis and debate that began in 2019, at the meeting in Palma de Mallorca.
The president of Puertos del Estado, Francisco Toledo, explains that “the Strategic Framework is one of the essential pillars of my Presidency and its design is in line, as it must be, with the policy set by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA) aimed at promoting safe, sustainable and connected mobility, with which to generate added value and employment.”.
Toledo adds that “the document that comes out of Santander will make Spanish ports better prepared for the important changes that are coming in the transport and logistics sectors, and even be able to lead the necessary actions to help face the new challenges in relation to competitiveness, security, innovation and sustainability on a global scale.”.
“As Seneca said, no wind is favorable to a sailor who does not know where he is going,” the president explains, “so agreeing on the ports we want in 2030 will allow us to take advantage of any wind to progress in that direction, while also making it possible for us to align ourselves to work together towards it.”.
In addition to President Toledo and the President of the Port Authority of Santander, Jaime González, who emphasized the “significance for this city of hosting the meeting where ports from all over Spain will decide to cross the threshold of 21st-century logistics,” several local authorities were present, including Miguel Ángel Revilla, President of Cantabria, who commented that “ports are crucial for the Spanish economy and expressed his confidence that they will soon recover the activity lost as a result of the pandemic.” Ainoa Quiñones, the Government Delegate in Cantabria, highlighted that “State Ports is an essential infrastructure for determining a sustainable, inclusive, efficient, smart, and green future for the country's economy, as it has the capacity to boost and support businesses, contributing to dynamism and competitiveness in an increasingly complex and global world.”.
Quiñones emphasized that the modernization of ports is both a challenge and a future opportunity that public administrations and institutions cannot afford to miss for a single minute. “If we want companies to innovate, invest, increase their resources, and take risks in their growth, it is clear that we must provide them with the best infrastructure to expand their productive capacity, which will undoubtedly lead to the creation of more jobs and, above all, better jobs—quality jobs.”.
Among the officials who welcomed the presidents and directors of the Port Authorities were Gema Igual, Mayor of Santander, and Felipe Piña, Director of Transport for the Government of Cantabria. The Mayor expressed her satisfaction that this was the first meeting held since the completion of the renovations to the Magdalena Palace.
The agenda of the 'Seminar on the analysis of the strategic development model' taking place on July 22nd and 23rd at the Magdalena Palace in Santander includes four working blocks:
1.- Block I. Results of surveys of companies and unions. Pre and post Covid-19 diagnosis. Port governance.
2.- Block II. Economic dimension. Financing. Land. Infrastructure. Services.
3. Block III. Innovation and environmental dimension. Digitalization. Innovation and Sustainability.
4.- Block IV. Social dimension. Security. Port-city. Human capital.
These thematic blocks comprise the 'Proposal for Basic Content of the Strategic Framework for the Port System of General Interest'. The document was commissioned to the Directorate of Planning and Development of State Ports. The work process was designed to ensure the active participation—at various levels—of Port Authorities and economic and social stakeholders in the port sector, as well as other relevant government bodies.
During the meeting, participants will also analyze the path forward for modernizing a governance model that has been in place for over two decades and which must necessarily evolve to integrate into a highly dynamic and changing global logistics landscape. The objective is to agree on the Strategic Framework for the Spanish port system of general interest for the next ten years.
Organizing the Santander meeting presents a genuine and necessary challenge in the context of the new normal. The crucial importance of having an updated Strategic Framework for ports and for supplying the country and Europe as a whole justifies holding it without further delay.
