Port of Málaga
The Port of Málaga, with 3.000 years of antiquity, is located in the Mediterranean Sea, in the South of the Iberian Peninsula, in the City of Málaga, in the natural bay of Malaga (36° 42 ' 42"N 4° 25' 3" Or). It is a port of passengers (regular line with Melilla), cruises (the second of the peninsula), containers, bulks and vehicles, and fishing boats.
The annual average of weather is 19ºC. With low precipitations (469.2 mm of annual average) taking place mainly between November and March, both inclusively. Ruling winds are SE and SO, dominating SO, with little speed generally. The annual average of pressure is of 760,6 mm. At the moment the Port is being remodelled (Special Plan of the Port) to integrate it into the city.
History
Phoenicians
The Phoenicians found the city probably around the 10th century b.c. The Phoenician Port extended from the West corner of the Customs House /Aduana to Puerta Oscura, an extension of about 500 meters. Malaga is, with Cadiz, the most ancient port in Spain.
Roman Era
By the end of the 3rd century, the Roman Era begins in Malaga. The movement in the Port is increased and different goods set off for Rome: minerals, pottery, almonds, wine, oil and fish prepared with a dressing called “garum”, very much appreciated in Rome.
Moslem Era
From the 11th century, an era of rebirth starts and the Alcazaba is built. Malaga is once again one of the most active ports in the Mediterranean Sea, and becomes the port of the Kingdom of Granada.
16th century
In 1487 the troops of the Catholic Monarchs arrive in Malaga. The Port is now seen as one of the edges of a bridge between the city and the other Mediterranean shore. It is a key component in the conquest of Melilla, Peñon de Velez, Oran and other places from the North of Africa. On January 15th 1529, Charles I signs the authorisation to start up trade with the Indies, therefore ending with the monopoly of Seville to trade with America. Malaga is the fist exporting port of cereal for a great part of the 16th century. Philip II commissions Fabio Bursoto, engineer of the port of Palermo (Italy) to start studying the future Port of Malaga. On January 1st 1588 the first stone is thrown to the sea.
18th century
Philip V appoints the French engineer Bartolome Thurus to prepare a project of expansion of the Port, to satisfy both the commercial and defence needs of the people in Malaga. In 1720 works are started to prolong the East Dock and the West Quay is started, later called the New Quay. During the era of Charles III, several projects are presented by different engineers. In 1783, the King approves the project to create the Alameda in the space gained to the sea.
19th century
In 1814, the Board of Royal Works appoints the Engineer Joaquin Maria Pery for the building of the light house. The exporting activity of the Port is the beginning of industrialization in Malaga. A good example for this are the first High Ovens of Spain. In 1873 the Boards of Port Works are established and so is the first Board of Works of the Port Malaga. In 1876 Mr. Rafael Yague writes and signs up the project of the new Port of Malaga. In 1897 the works in the quays are finished. This allows the creation of the Park, which was possible mainly thanks to the President of the Cabinet, Canovas del Castillo.
20th century
In the first ten years of this century, World War I revives the industrial activity in the city. Different works are carried out at the time: the enlargement and modernization of the quays, the building of the current Passenger Terminal, and the Malaga-Puertollano oil pipeline, which brought important profits. By the end of the century, the lost of oil traffic means one of the most important crisis in the history of our port. In the last decade the special plan of the Port is brought up. In this Plan, new areas and port are and new urban spaces are offered to the city. Two projects of enlargement are started: the East Dock and Quay number 9.
The port moves South Due to the port displacement towards the South, through these 30 centuries the port has been handing land over to the city, which has been reconverted into new urban spaces.
The social and economic development The trade by sea and the port, have very much helped towards the birth of the city as well as its economic and social growth and the surrounding areas’.
The 21st century
An overall view of the modernizing of the Port of Malaga, the new traffics, city and port spaces which are being undertaken in this new century.
Installations
- East quay: Used for megayatchs and cruises.
- Dock shallow-draft vessels: Tourist cruises.
- Quay nº1 Ricardo Gross: Used for general merchandise,containers and cruises.
- Quay nº2 "Guadiaro": Used for tourist cruises, cereals and general merchandise.
- Quay nº3 Canovas: Used for passage, rolling load and tourist cruises.
- Quay nº4 Heredia: Used for rolling load, liquid bulks and general merchandise.
- Quay nº5 Floating dock: Used for repairs and armament.
- Quay nº6 (Romero Oak grove) And 7: Used for solid and liquid bulks and dangerous merchandise.
- Soft Fishing port of solid and liquid bulks: Used for solid and liquid bulks by special installation.
- Multipurpose Quay nº9: Used for containers and vehicles.
Communications
Inner communications
- Rolling Traffic
All the quays are connected by a system of paved inner ways with granite paving stone avobe concrete with wide variables of 8 to 16 meters.
- Railroad
The network of railway routes of the Port spreads around Malaga reaching all the commercial areas, from the maneuver to the deposit ones.
Outer communications and Intermodal Connection
- Road
The access to the Port is connected to the outer Circumvallation rounds of Malaga, where the two state highways that communicate the city with the rest of the territory, the A-7 (Barcelona-Cádiz) that runs by the coast, and the A-45, that enters towards the interior (Córdoba-Málaga) and that unites the A-92 railcar with the rest of the national system of highways in Antequera, meet.
- Railroad
The access to the Port by Railroad, located in the West sector, unites the Harbor Services Area with the Main Station of Málaga. An important movement of merchandise has been consolidated through Loads RENFE, being made the complete logistic FF.CC + Road because of the clients demands. The necessary wagons for each kind of traffic are moved into the Port, coordinating them with the different ship dockages.
- CTM
The CTM, Center of Transports of Merchandise of Málaga, foments and improves the infrastructure of the merchandise transport by highway, locating itself in the so-called "productive triangle of Malaga", formed by the Technological Park, the Airport and the Port.
- Airport
The Airport's Center of Air Cargo constitutes the last answer from the Airport to the evolution of the merchandise transport sector for which an important growth is anticipated.
- Logistics operations
The Council of Public Works and Transport of the Meeting of Andalusia is developing a project of a great intermodal platform with direct connection to the Port.
Traffics
Commercial Traffic
The Port of Málaga is an eminently import port. The annual traffic of solid bulks suposses 1.984.863 metric ton and the most important are the imports of cement, clinker, cereals and other agro-alimentary products, like sonflower seeds or soybean cakes, petroleum cokes and fertilizers. As far as exported products is concerned, the most remarkable are the dolomita, the wheat, the olive bones and the construction equipments.
The general merchandise has increased considerably in the past two years due to the operation of the containers terminal, that, through 2006, has generated a movement of approximately 3.135.128 metric ton. and more than 450.694 teus. On the other hand, the regular line of Málaga-Melilla cabotage transported around 39.000 vehicles that travelled in passage regime.
The liquid bulks suppose around 70.000 metric ton yearly and are constituted mainly by olive oil, as much in import as in export.
The traffic of passengers is also very important. In one hand there are the passengers who visit the city on board the tourist cruises that stop at the Port (around 211.000 a year), and on the other hand, the ones from the traffic of cabotage of the regular line with Melilla. This, together with the passengers of local traffic, causes that around 500.000 passengers arrive at the Port along the year.
Traffic of Cruises
In 2006 a total of 227 cruise ships has arrived at the Port of Malaga, as opposed to the 215 that arrived in 2005. Altogether, about 220,000 passengers will have arrived at this port, which supposes an increase of 7.5% respect the previous year.
Of this exercise, they can be emphasized the excellent months of May, with 36 stops, and November, with 32, when in addition the greatest ships, like the Carnival Liberty, the Brilliance of the Sea, the Millennium or the Queen Elizabeth 2, were congregated.
- Primary port
The Port of Málaga has been used as a primary port in 10 ocassions, as opposed to the 7 occasions in the previous year. Of these 10 ships, a total of 4.113 passengers embarked and disembarked in the port, which supposes a great economic repercussion for the city, because of the expenses of restoration and pernoctation that this type of scales entail.
- First calls
The excellent progression of the Port of Málaga is also patent in the 15 first calls that were placed in the last 12 months: Midnatsol, Chorale, Callisto, MSC Opera, Thomson Destiny, Artemis, Thomson Celebration, Thomson Spirit, Boudicca, Golden Princess, Cooncordia Coast, Arielle, Magical Coast and MSC Music.
Special Plan
The Special Plan of the Port of Malaga intends to meet the increasing demands of the port and city, by complying with the following targets:
- To integrate the Port as an active part of the city by means of town-planning arrangements and development of cultural and leisure areas of service sector.
- To increase tourist attraction of the city by establishing new cultural and leisure centres according to current trends.
- To create new urban spaces in the city as a part of the port-city operation. In this context and having achieved to move further away the port activity from urban areas, the quays nearest to the city turn into new urban spaces.
- To promote port activities by providing the necessary infrastructures to turn the Port into a point of reference for cruises traffic in European Mediterranean Sea, North Africa and even the Caribbean. Also to change the Port of Malaga into a port of reference for containers traffic.
San Andrés Platform
Within port-city operation context, four main actions are planned to provide this quay with a completely new concept.
Over an area of approximately 100,000 sqm the following works are planned:
- The Marina: a new Marina will offer 650 mooring places approximately for boats up to 15 meters length and as a result the Port of Malaga will meet the great demand existing at present in the province regarding mooring places for pleasure boats.
- Malaga Auditorium: the Port of Malaga will give the necessary grounds for this ambitious achievement to strengthen the roll of the city as the capital of a tourist region and will supply the city with this kind of facilities which are so necessary for Malaga and its hinterland.
- Antonio Banderas Theatre School Foundation: this project will give the city of Malaga the added value of being a cultural point of reference for other capitals.
- Oceanographic Institute: the Port of Malaga will recover for the city this institution, as part of its sea culture.
The total budget runs to 15 million euros.
Heredia Quay
As part of port-city operation, an intervention which will develop a new urban façade is planned in Heredia Quay.
The following actions are planned over an area of approximately 67.000 m2:
- Demolition of current buildings.
- Cession of ground for new traffic roads.
- Constructions of new buildings for offices.
- Provision of 500 car spaces under above mentioned buildings.
- Avenues, gardens and public squares between the buildings.
The total budget runs to 33 million euros.
El palmeral de las sorpresas
The proposal for Quay 2 is the result of an International Architecture Competition won by architects JERONIMO JUNQUERA and LILIANA OBAL with their project known as “EL PALMERAL DE LAS SORPRESAS”.
The result is a Lounge shaped area leaning over the Mediterranean Sea with two basic elements: a weft of palm trees and a pergola flowing parallel to the quay. As part of the different stages of the Palm Grove, three buildings raise with a minimum volume and a maximum visual permeability. The following constructions will be located in these three buildings:
- A Passenger Terminal, for passengers in transit.
- Port Museum, it will reflect the history of the Port of Malaga and in one of its exhibition halls it will recover the machinery and instruments of industrial and archaeological interest belonging to the silo.
- Aula del Mar, A Coast Research and Environment Education Centre that will show life in Alboran Sea.
The investment foreseen is of 22,787,723.92€, € to be completely assumed by the Department of Public Works and Transport of Regional Government of Andalusia, through EPSA (Public Company of Andalusia Land).
Like in Quay 1, the inauguration is foreseen in Autumn 2007.
Quay 1: Marina de la Farola
In quay no. 1, a total of 170 linear meters have been kept for the Marina that will have 24 mooring places for great pleasure boats up to 30 meters length.
Last year 2005, the Port Authority of Malaga awarded the Competition “Marina de la Farola” for quay 1 in favour of the Malaga company UDISA.
It is an intervention that completely agrees with the Special Plan approved, from an architectural point of view as well as for its trading uses: 14,000 sqm of high-quality trading uses, mixing up restaurants, small shops and leisure. A great publicly-owned premises of 4,000 sqm for cultural use completes this intervention. The authors of this idea, Architects Pau Soler and Miguel Rodriguez together with the Engineer Team Pereda 4 Estudio have achieved that the design be not only respectful with present environment, a so much sensitive area in town centre, but they have also managed to enhance this area by merging it into one with the seaboard. It is also provided with an underground car park for 800 spaces under the corner between quays number 1 and 2 and also 150 parking spaces more at the quay level and under the new view-point square to be built in front of the Lighthouse. A Passenger Terminal for passengers in transit is also planned. The roofs of all this intervention will shape a new and spectacular pavement of the Paseo de la Farola (Lighthouse Avenue), with no other barriers but the trees and benches that will turn this area into a pedestrian zone without equal only 30 meters to the seaside.
The total investment foreseen is of 36,700,000 euros and will be inaugurated in Autumn 2007.
Eastern Dock: Road Widening
The new Passenger Terminal will entail a busier traffic between the Eastern Dock and the centre of the city.
For this reason, the road will be widened this very year 2006. Cruisers will be able to move between their cruise ship and the city in just 5 minutes, and evacuation in case of emergency will be easy and quick. It is a Project of the Port Authority of Malaga, with a total budget of 4,550,000 €, which will be in use before the new Passenger Terminal will be inaugurated.
Eastern Dock: Passenger Terminal
The new Passenger Terminal of the Port of Malaga will be inaugurated at the end of 2007. The Great Passenger Terminal is designed according to the most up-to-date technology applied in security concerning luggage processing and professional services rendered to passengers. It is a polyvalent Terminal with capacity for passengers coming from two cruise ships at the same time. The Port of Malaga will be able to receive more than 5,000 cruise ships passengers simultaneously, since the building has an annual capacity of 560,000 tourists. Thus, the present figures of +200,000 passengers will be doubled.
The total area built is of 13,700 sq. ft. consisting of two heights and two new berths: Southern Berth and Northern Berth, from which the first one is already under construction. The total budget runs to 21,3 million euros.