Port of Barcelona celebrates strong recovery
The port of Barcelona looks back in joy on its business year 2021, attributing its success to its recovery plan and investments. On the one hand, the port was “a major player in the accelerated recovery of the economy and employment from the pandemic fallout,” said Damià Calvet, president of the port of Barcelona. The recovery plan, which was launched in 2021 and remains in force this year, resulted in port operators saving nearly EUR 11 million – money which the port authority ceased to collect.
On the other hand, at the presentation of the results for 2021, Miriam Alaminos, deputy director-general of economic and financial affairs, highlighted investments of EUR 69 million.
Altogether, the port of Barcelona achieved a turnover of EUR 151 million, up 9% compared to 2020, as well as a stronger flow of goods. Total traffic at the port amounted to 66.4 million t (+11.8%) in 2021, in which container traffic reached the new record mark of 3.5 million teu (+19.3%).
Conventional cargo, which mostly involves ro-ro traffic, also surged to 397,000 itu (+14.3%), and new vehicle volumes ended up at almost 500,000 units (+3.9%). In liquid bulk, there was a moderate decline of 3.4% to 12.4 million t, but dry bulk movements climbed by 9.9% to 4.5 million t. (cd)