The Port of Barcelona's nautical bus will start operating on 1 July
The Management Board has approved the awarding of the concession to Nex Continental Holdings, S.L.U. with a commitment to enter a joint venture with Bahia Zero, S.L. (ALSA Group).
Two zero-emission vessels will provide this service.
The Port of Barcelona's Management Board has today approved the awarding of the nautical bus service between the Drassanes and Llevant wharves to Nex Continental Holdings, S.L.U. with a commitment to enter a joint venture with Bahia Zero, S.L. (ALSA Group).
The nautical bus service will be made available for at least 12 hours a day using two vessels with a capacity for 70 passengers and will have an automated docking and boarding system. The maximum fare has been set at €1.9 per journey, and there are plans for ten-trip travel passes valid for two and thirty days, with discounts available for children and young people and for the elderly.
Nex Continental Holdings, S.L.U. with a commitment to enter a joint venture with Bahia Zero, S.L. will undertake several investments at both ends of the new service: Llevant wharf and Drassanes wharf. The nautical bus stop at Llevant wharf will be located in the new passenger terminal that will occupy the former sheds, currently being refurbished. This passenger terminal will be equipped with a catering service. Once the service has begun, the successful tenderer may propose other stops.
The concession extends for 15 years and the successful tenderer, who will start operating on 1 July, will make an initial investment of €1,872,000 in the two vessels and the fitting out of the passenger terminal and the stop at Portal de la Pau.
The main condition of the tender for the nautical bus service at the Port of Barcelona was that the vessels must be zero-emission, meaning that they must be equipped with a propulsion system powered by solar panels or hydrogen and must be suitable for connection to the electrical grid.
The Port of Barcelona recovers six hectares from MEPSA
In addition to this, the Port of Barcelona’s Management Board today approved the advance recovery of six hectares of the concession held by Muelles y Espacios Portuarios, S.A.U. (MEPSA), located on the Energy wharf, to be used for the future green fuels manufacturing plant.
MEPSA has a 42-hectare concession on the Energy wharf that expires in 2035. This space is occupied by various activities (liquid and dry bulk storage, chemical products logistics, special services, vehicle and container storage, etc). The port has analysed these activities and has approved the return of ownership of the areas which host activities that can be performed in other port areas: two plots totalling six hectares. Recovery of this area will be effective on 1 January 2025.
The Port of Barcelona has negotiated the compensation for the return of this space from its concession with MEPSA, which involves extending the concession term until 1 January 2043.
The item approved today by the Management Board is an important step in developing the Port of Barcelona's Energy Transition Plan. The future zero-emission fuel plant is expected to generate new maritime traffic with cleaner fleets of ships and facilitate the use of such new fuels in other port and logistics activities in the port and the surrounding area.
