At Seatrade Cruise Miami last month, Tarragona and Global Ports Holding (GPH) explained the Tarragona-Costa Daurada project and the advantages of the Tarragona Cruise Port.
The joint event was led by the Tarragona Port Authority (APT) President, Josep Cruset and GPH CEO, H Emre Sayin.
This partnership began in March this year and involves the building of a new cruise terminal on the Balears Wharf, which is due to go into operation in the summer of next year.
GPH is the official contractor for the Tarragona cruise project and will build the new cruise terminal. The agreement, signed in January, 2022, formalised GPH as a concessionaire for 12 years to manage Tarragona’s cruise passenger services.
The planned investment is €5.5 mill.
Sayin said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as the operator for a port with such great potential. Tarragona is truly a beautiful destination with excellent connections. We look forward to highlighting its history and culture, while building a new, environmentally friendly terminal that will complement the port and the destination”.
Cruset added: “The partnership with Global Ports consolidates the cruise project in the Port of Tarragona. The experience and professionalism will help to relaunch this activity in Tarragona and recover the pre-pandemic results in two years. We are happy that, from now on, Tarragona will be available to more visitors from all over the world.”
The new Balears Wharf was built in 18 months at a cost of €30 mill. A multi-purpose infrastructure inaugurated in October, 2021, it added 700 m to the berthing space available for cruise ships, as well as allowing for much more convenient and flexible operations.
It represents an improvement for the port’s cruise activity, as larger vessels can be accommodated and more ships can use the facility simultaneously – up to four cruise ships – the port said.