The Port Authority of the Bay of Cádiz in southern Spain has approved the award of a tender to build and operate a new cruise passenger terminal at the Reina Sofía Wharf in the Port of Cadiz.
The winning bidder is MDT Port Investments, the Spanish subsidiary of the ITM Group. The company said its proposal involves private investment of €20.8 million (US$1.11 million).
The development spans approximately 60,215 square metres of land, a water area of 20,000 square metres, and 400 linear metres of berth frontage. ITM plans to build it in two phases of 18 months each.
Shore power at the berths is part of the proposal. ITM said this would help, "reduce vessel emissions and noise while ships are docked."
The award covers the terminal, an associated commercial area open to residents, and the provision of cruise passenger port services. Under the tender terms, third-party operators must be able to use the terminal alongside the concessionaire.
The facility will be Cádiz's third cruise terminal. It will add to the 1,300-square-metre main terminal at Alfonso XIII Wharf and the 420-square-metre satellite terminal at Muelle Ciudad.
The port authority said the project is intended to develop Cádiz as a cruise embarkation and disembarkation port.
No construction start date has been set. The project depends on container operations at Reina Sofía Wharf moving to the port's new container terminal on reclaimed land.
During the tender, the port authority said there was no firm date for handing over the concession land and told bidders to assume January 1, 2027.
The concession will run for an initial 35 years. Additional investment can extend it to a maximum of 50 years.
