The cluster highlights the need to take into account the high level of international competitiveness in which the sector operates, as well as its social and economic impact, representing 3.5% of GDP and providing employment to thousands of families
The Board of Directors of Balearic Marine Cluster will hold a meeting on 23 January with the President and Director of the Balearic Ports Authority (APB) in order to gain detailed information on the relocation of the Industrial Nautical Sector to the West Breakwater.
This meeting follows the presentation sent by email on 19 December regarding the new Port of Palma plan, and the subsequent publication on 21 December of the tender for the drafting of the Master Plan and Urban Planning Proposal for the transformation of the commercial quays. This process has generated significant concern among the more than 800 companies operating in this port environment, which support the livelihoods of over 6,000 families.
Balearic Marine Cluster considers it essential to have clear and detailed information on how the reorganisation process will be managed, which criteria have been taken into account in the planning phase, and how the operational viability of Palma’s industrial nautical sector will be guaranteed in the medium and long term.
Balearic Marine Cluster underlines that its role in this process is to act as an interlocutor between the sector and the public administration, channelling the concerns of companies and promoting a constructive dialogue that makes it possible to reconcile the port’s transformation with the development of economic activity in an increasingly competitive national and international environment.
“The aim of this meeting is to understand the technical criteria considered in the planning of the relocation of the repair area, how it will be implemented, and what guarantees are being offered to the nautical sector so that it can continue to operate in a highly competitive environment,” states Pedro Suasi, Managing Director of the cluster.
The organisation considers it essential to alert political decision-makers in the Balearic Islands that any miscalculation in the reorganisation of the Port of Palma could lead to a permanent loss of competitiveness in a highly competitive market and, consequently, the loss of thousands of jobs and the closure of hundreds of industrial companies. It also recalls that the sector has been classified by the Government of the Balearic Islands as a strategic sector due to its impact on the economic and social fabric of the region.
“The pillars that sustain the competitiveness of the nautical repair sector in the Port of Palma are at risk of being undermined by a political decision. What we are asking for are data, reports and guarantees that any change is based on technical criteria that do not jeopardise the future of the nautical industry,” says Guillermo García, President of Balearic Marine Cluster.
In the coming weeks, Balearic Marine Cluster will organise an open assembly for all interested nautical repair companies in order to report on the outcome of the meeting and provide any information available to the organisation regarding this matter.
