Pedro Suárez, president of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz Tenerife, He is in favor of building the Port of Fonsalía, in Guía de Isora. He considers that leaving him “on track” in this mandate “is probable.” In his opinion, “what has to be expressed is the political will to do so.” He understands that It is “the definitive solution” for traffic problems between the Port of Los Cristianos and the South Highwaywhich causes inter-island maritime traffic.
Of course, everything said “is still an opinion, since the powers for its construction rest solely with Puertos Canarios.” For this reason, he announced that “we will have to meet shortly to see what the decision will be.” He defended that “the project that “apparently was lost” must be resumed, when the environmental impact report of the sheet of water expires. “The Government of the Canary Islands has to take a step forward and try to solve the problem.”
The president of Puertos de Tenerife claimed that, linked to Fonsalía’s work, “part of the land infrastructure was already prepared” from his previous stage in office (August 2018 and September 2019). He cites as an example the road that connects the Island Ring with the town, “made with the possibility of that port in mind”, which “does not disturb any population environment” and which “would be very beneficial for La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro ».
Suárez considers that “it is likely that we can leave this work on track in this mandate”
Suárez calls for resuming the Fonsalía port project “calmly”, because “these are very long works. It is likely that we can get it on track in this mandate, but it takes time to do so” because “they require many reports.” In statements to Radio Club Tenerifedefended that with Fonsalía “we would leave Los Cristianos as a Canarian port with a large marina for yachts and megayachts, where the city could benefit.”
He said he agreed with the mayor of Arona, Fátima Lemes, that Los Cristianos “does not have any benefit” from the port., since it supports traffic that does not stop in that core. Along these lines, he explained that in his previous stage at the head of Puertos de Tenerife they addressed, with the Cabildo, options to “alleviate” the chaos in this town, but they were “temporary solutions.” That is, eliminate parking to gain a lane or bury part of the route. In his opinion, they are initiatives that “must be taken up” and other measures added.
Although Pedro Suárez maintained that the problems at the dock and in Los Cristianos are limited “to specific moments in the calendar” – summer and Christmas -, he announced that Puertos de Tenerife wants to resolve the problem that affects the port of Arona. To do this, a “major remodeling and gaining space is proposed, but this is not the definitive solution.” Measure that requires the construction of the Port of Fonsalía, said the president.
This work currently has, since October 2021, the statement against the Parliament of the Canary Islands, which approved the definitive abandonment of its construction with the votes of the Canarian Coalition, Sí Podemos and Nueva Canarias. The PP, ASG and Ciudadanos opposed it, while the PSOE abstained.