{"id":4822,"date":"2021-08-30T21:20:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-30T19:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/?p=4822"},"modified":"2021-09-08T14:55:40","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T12:55:40","slug":"a-new-emblem-for-ceuta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/a-new-emblem-for-ceuta\/","title":{"rendered":"A new emblem for Ceuta"},"content":{"rendered":"

The port of Ceuta, one of the two Spanish autonomous cities, together with Melilla, located in North Africa, is the country\u2019s fourth busiest port in terms of regular passenger traffic: 2.1 million passengers and nearly half a million vehicles per year, according to 2019 figures from the Ceuta Port Authority. Due to its peculiar geography \u2013with a surface area of only 19 km2<\/sup> and its location on the Almina peninsula, between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic\u2013 the sea provides the primary means of connection with the rest of Spain and supplies for the city, which receives all kinds of goods and basic supplies, such as building materials, fuel and even water. The port is also a transit area for cross-border goods traffic between Morocco and Europe.<\/p>\n

The terminal is the first and last thing that passengers arriving or leaving by sea will see, which makes it an emblematic building for the city<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although the city has had a heliport belonging to the Aena network since 2004, where regular flights to Melilla, Algeciras and M\u00e1laga operate, the high-speed ferry is the main means of passenger transport. Three shipping companies \u2013Armas, FRS and Balearia\u2013 currently offer numerous daily connections for passengers and vehicles between Ceuta and Algeciras.<\/p>\n

The port has two breakwaters, measuring 1,500 metres and 500 metres long, known as the Poniente and Levante docks, respectively. Inside the harbour there are two main quays: perpendicular to the coast, the Spain quay, where the control tower is located and where the first passenger terminal was built, and the Ca\u00f1onero Dato quay, where the maritime station was moved in the 1970s and four ferry berths were built. The port also has a marina and fishing harbour, as well as a dry dock.<\/p>\n

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Location of the maritime terminal of the port of Ceuta and operations area. \/ IMAGE_INECO<\/p><\/div>\n

The terminal is therefore the first and last thing that passengers see when they arrive or leave by sea, which makes it an emblematic building for the city, barely one kilometre from the centre and four kilometres from the Moroccan border. Although various reforms and works have been carried out over the years, the passage of time, the increase in maritime traffic, changes in infrastructure legislation and, above all, the challenge of reinforcing security in the face of global risks such as terrorism, among others, have made it necessary to remodel and expand the facilities.<\/p>\n

As a result, in 2017, the Ceuta Port Authority commissioned a feasibility study for the new terminal, which produced three main conclusions: the need to double the surface area, the need for a new pre-boarding hall and the need to separate the flows of embarking and disembarking passengers \u2013which is not currently the case\u2013 for security reasons. In 2019, it contracted Ineco to study the possible alternatives and draft the preliminary design and subsequent construction project for the new maritime station, including car parks and accesses, which was completed in October 2020.<\/p>\n

Existing facilities<\/h4>\n

The existing terminal has an estimated maximum traffic capacity of four million passengers and one million vehicles. In addition to the passenger building, it has four berths for ships, RO-RO ramps for loading and unloading cars and lorries, and an esplanade with a capacity for 900 vehicles, with separate boarding and disembarking areas. Between these two areas are the ticket and police control facilities, and at the end of the disembarking area, the Guardia Civil\u2019s tax service checkpoint, which carries out customs inspections.<\/p>\n