Damià Calvet takes office as President of the Port of Barcelona
Some of the great challenges that Damià Calvet will face at the head of the Port of Barcelona are its sustainable development, the decarbonisation of maritime-port activity, and the energy transition.
Damià Calvet has today taken office as President of the Port of Barcelona, replacing Mercè Conesa, who has been President of the entity for the last three years, since July 2018. Damià Calvet was appointed President of the Port of Barcelona at the last meeting of the Executive Council of the Government of Catalonia, held last Tuesday 29 June on a proposal of the Department of the Vice Presidency and Digital Policies and Territory. His appointment was ratified with the publication in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) and in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
Some of the key challenges that Damià Calvet will face at the head of the Port of Barcelona are the sustainable development of this key economic driver, on both the environmental and economic, social and governance level; the decarbonisation of maritime-port activity; and the energy transition to combat the climate emergency, using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Green Agenda of Catalonia as a roadmap, which follows the guidelines of the European Union Green Deal.
The new President of the Port of Barcelona will rely on innovation and digitalisation to make this infrastructure into a smarter port, a sustainable, multimodal, nimble, resilient and transparent logistics hub, all of which are goals set in the Port's Fourth Strategic Plan 2021-2025. Innovation and digitalisation are essential tools for achieving a greener port, one that increases the number of jobs and their quality, a port that generates more employment and more wealth in its community.
A trajectory linked to the public sector
As an elected member for Junts per Catalunya in the 14th Legislature of the Parliament of Catalonia, Damià Calvet was Regional Minister for Territory and Sustainability of the Generalitat de Catalunya and during the 12th Legislature at the department responsible for environmental policies, land use planning and town planning, housing, infrastructure, mobility and logistics.
He had previously held various posts in the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the most important being those of director of the Catalan Land Institute (INCASÒL) and president of CIMALSA (2013-2018), both of which are public companies responsible for adapting land to economic and residential activity and public housing; Secretary of Territory and Mobility (2011-2012); General Manager of Architecture and Housing (2001-2004) and Head of Cabinet to the Regional Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Works (1997-2001).
He has been elected a councillor at the municipal level on two occasions, acting as deputy mayor of Urban planning, Economy and Finance of the City of Sant Cugat del Vallès (2015-2018) and a councillor of the City of Vilanova i la Geltrú (1999-2003).
Damià Calvet has a degree in Building Sciences and Technologies from Ramon Llull University and a diploma in Technical Architecture from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
