The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Hector Gomezhas visited the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife together with the president of the Port AuthorityCarlos González, and the mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez.
In addition, he has seen first-hand the work of the control room of Maritime Rescue by the person in charge of the area. The activity of the entity has saved more than 128,000 human lives since 2018 and 7,745 only so far this year.
During the tour, the minister has visited the latest activities carried out on the dock. The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife will invest 269 million euros in its facilities until 2027. Among them is the planning project for the connecting dock to turn it into a more conditioned transit area; the expansion of the marina; and works in Maritime Defense and the Charcos area to enable the opening of the city to the sea and the recovery of this space for the use and enjoyment of citizens.
On the other hand, the Onshore Power Supply (OPS) project stands out, some facilities that will connect the ships to the land electrical network during their stay in port so that the auxiliary motors they use to supply themselves can be turned off during the loading and unloading of goods or people. This is intended to reduce emissions and eliminate the noise produced by the operation of the engines.
Héctor Gómez has supported the great work that is being done in this enclave from the public sector, with “improvements that combine the transition towards a sustainable and more enjoyable space for the residents of Santa Cruz.”
The state-owned port system closed the year 2022 with an amount of 1,190 million euros, which has meant an increase of 11.5% compared to 2021. For its part, in the first months of 2023, the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has experienced growth in both passenger and freight traffic, by 41% and 10% respectively.
“We are in a moment of advancement and economic progress. After all the crises we have experienced, some of the toughest for the tourism sector, we did not imagine this recovery, also for the industry and commerce that ports represent”.
The minister highlights the PERTE for the naval industry
During the visit, the minister highlighted the importance of the PERTE Naval within the strategic projects carried out by the Government. The fundamental challenge of this PERTE is to diversify the naval sector towards new products, its digitization, the improvement of its environmental sustainability and the training of its employees.
“It is estimated that it will increase the competitiveness of the sector by 15% and achieve an annual growth rate of 9%. But the most important thing is that it is expected to contribute to the creation of 3,100 quality jobs, mainly in peripheral regions”, Minister Héctor Gómez announced.
This PERTE has a budget of 1,460 million euros and there are 131 applicant entities, 99 of them SMEs.
