Corralejo Port Expansion

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

from Radio Sintonia, a couple of weeks ago:

The Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing of the Government of the Canary Islands,Sebastián Franquis, announced today that the opening of the public information process of the project of the new commercial dock of the port of Corralejo, in the municipality of La Oliva, in Fuerteventura, has already begun. With an estimated budget of more than 33 million euros, the actions aim to create a new commercial dock with a new dock that will expand the berthing areas and strengthen the safety of maritime operations carried out in the facilities.
 
"Today we have come to present an ambitious project, at the height of the port of Corralejo, at the height of the island of Fuerteventura, and I believe that we take a decisive step to improve our port facilities, of the network of Canarian Ports. A port, I insist, very important for us because more than a million travelers pass through here every year", explained the counselor Sebastián Franquis, "today, the traffic of passengers, vehicles, and the economic activity that is generated in the north of Fuerteventura, and in the south of Lanzarote, is fundamental. For this reason, the Government has wanted to modernize and expand its facilities, both here and in Lanzarote, to place it in its rightful place."
Minister Franquis made these statements during his visit to the port of Majorero to learn about the work that is currently being carried out, in a complementary way, to increase the number of pontoons, a tour in which he was accompanied by the president of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Sergio Lloret, the mayor of La Oliva, Pilar González, and the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of the Government of the Canary Islands, Gustavo Santana.
It is the port of Corralejo is one of the most active of all kinds concentrated within the ports of regional competence, with more than one million passengers and more than three hundred thousand vehicles a year in its facilities. Due to the conditions of its location, being the main communications hub between the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote next to its mirror port of Playa Blanca in Lanzarote, for its important and essential activity, as well as for reasons of operability and security, the expansion of this port has been proposed based on a differentiation by docks, separating the commercial activity from the relevant sports and excursion activity that this port also has.
This maritime activity in the port has made it necessary to draft a project that allows to expand the surface of the same to eliminate the areas of concurrence of the boats. The commercial traffic of the shipping companies that operate the Playa Blanca-Corralejo crossing originates an average flow of 2.7 entries or exits per hour, which causes interference between the traffic of the light fishing and recreational boats, smaller and slower, with the ferries, faster, but less agile in their maneuvers.
More capacity of the facilities and services
With the design of the new commercial dock, a sheltered dock is achieved north of the current port, which will exclusively accommodate commercial traffic, expanding the capacity to three berths for ships of greater transport than those currently operating. Likewise, the land area of commercial port operation, and its access road, is independent of those of fishing and recreational activity.
This new shelter dam is developed parallel to the current one about 120 meters, with two sections of different orientation: a first section of 189 meters and a second of 242 meters. This configuration allows to have a sheltered water surface of about 33,900 m2, and double the current land area of the port with 30,000 m2 more, passing this from the current 28,200 m2 to have more than 58,200 m2 of docks and service areas for commercial, sports and fishing activities.
It should be noted that of the 225 linear meters of berthing for ships that is currently available in this port, 380 linear meters would be available.
For the berthing of ferries and medium-range vessels, three areas with ramps have been designed. The first berth, located in the third alignment of the shelter dock, provides a useful length of about 160 meters. The other two berths are located, approximately, in the center of the dock by means of a central jetty that has the function of hosting on each of its sides the berths for ferries of medium size, with an extension of 110 meters.
Also, for the mooring of commercial boats for tourist excursions, two pontoons, of 48 meters in length each, of floating type with aluminum structure have been projected.
With the aim of giving continuity to the current terrestrial spaces, the project contemplates the partial demolition of the superstructure of the current dam and, in the final section, the remodeling of its protective mantle. With this, the maximum elevations of the existing port and, therefore, the visual interferences that exist today are reduced in a very significant way.
In this sense, the management of the land area of the commercial terminal integrates different functional elements, such as access to the terminal; the parking of vehicles of users and passengers; a new maritime station; pre-shipment beaches; internal roads, as well as several complementary areas.
After the publication of the project in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands on the 28th, those interested may consult the document and submit any allegation within thirty working days, from the publication in the BOC. The documentation of the project is available on the website of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing, at the following address https://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/obraspublicas/infraportuaria/PCiudadana/index.html.
Extension of berths
Sebastián Franquis took advantage of his visit to the port of Corralejo to supervise the installation works of new pontoons that are currently being developed, and that in fact are part of the new project to expand the port together with the creation of the new commercial dock.
These works have a budget of 2.1 million euros to double the current number of berths for fishing and sports vessels in the inner dock of the port. In this sense, the counselor explained that due to the tourist development of the town, the demand for berths in the inner dock has skyrocketed in recent years generating a waiting list close to one hundred boats. Therefore, this initiative contemplates reaching 423 berths, 207 more than at present.
For the extension of the dock, it is planned to install a floating concrete breakwater that will last up to 72 meters and that will protect from the storms of the southeast that usually affect this port with some frequency.
These works also include improvements in the concrete berthing area used by commercial lines and for Civil Guard vessels.

**********

This article in Diario de Fuerteventura includes a very good picture/diagram of the proposed works:

https://www.diariodefuerteventura.com/no...rsi%C3%B3n

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

from Diario:

The risks of expanding Corralejo: impact on the appreciated waves and more pressure

• Environmentalists warn that the new pier, which would double the current one, would affect the interior of the bay and some beaches of the town.
  
• The debate on the expansion of the port of Corralejo has been opened. The project would involve filling more than 30,000 square meters and with the construction of the new dock, to the north, "a space that is currently diaphanous to the contemplation of a marine horizon is occupied" from the coast. Environmentalists warn of more negative consequences, especially for the characteristic waves, one of the tourist and sports attractions of the north of Fuerteventura. "The project has not taken into account the changes in the currents of the area, which are not linear," the ecologists point out in their allegations.
  
  On the coast of Corralejo, they explain, there are "two opposite currents, which are also changing depending on whether the tide is rising or falling, and that change does not always have the same intensity." In that sense, they emphasize that these characteristics make the Tides "even more unpredictable, both for good and for bad, and that is where their complex, but no less important, power of regeneration lies for the water of the bay and its bottoms."
  
  In the allegations of Ecologists in Action it is objected that the project "does not take into account the currents in the area throughout the year", that the new pier, which would more than double the current one, "will bring with it the total transformation of the interior of the bay of Corralejo" and that this will also affect "some beaches of the town, where the water at many times of the year will be stagnant and smelly."
  
  The fame of that strip of northern Fuerteventura for water sports crosses borders. The Surfer's Journal, published in California (USA), considered a bible by surf lovers, has just published a report on Corralejo, with images of the waves of Punta del Medio -called by foreigners Rocky Point- or Punta Elena, and the waves of the Lobos swing. Among the attractions for digital nomads, that segment of visitors who come to spend seasons on the Island, there is also the dynamics of the waves for surfing, windsurfing or kitesurfing.
  
  Environmentalists see a contradiction that, "while the Government of the Canary Islands invests huge amounts of Money in promotion to attract them, on the other hand it projects the expansion of a port that is going to load the peculiarities of Corralejo and that will bring more negative impacts than benefits".
  
  

  The allegations ensure that the changes would affect species such as the loggerhead turtle or the bottlenose dolphin.

• According to environmentalists, the expansion of the port "fully affects" areas of the Natura Network of the European Union, such as the Special Conservation Area (ZEC) of the sebadales of Corralejo, the Natural Park of Lobos and the Natural Park of the Dunes of Corralejo, as well as the Site of Community Importance (SCI) of the marine space of the east and south of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
  Thus, they highlight that there are species "especially sensitive to alterations" that could cause both the execution of the works – whose "footprint" with "thousands of trucks crossing the town for several years has not been taken into account" – and the start-up of the new pier. This is the case, they cite, of the loggerhead turtle, the green turtle or the bottlenose dolphin, as well as the angelshark, "the most threatened shark in the Atlantic", and different types of manta rays. "All of them," they point out, "species that are affected by changes in their habitats" and their environment.
  

[DavidP]

At the moment I am privileged to be able to dive fairly regularly with turtles, angel sharks and occasionally Tuna and hammerheads(dont mention the last one to too many people)

The inner pontoons in Corry are not a problem but the effects of the proposed extension of the main quay are potentially horrendous given the vagaries of the currents twixt Lobos and FV and inc Lanz 

I am hoping some marine survey work will be done but I have not noted any survey vessel in the last 5 years,
I have a background in this type work and ceased being surprised by some unexpected twist after Port development/dredging works, and that was before they introduced H&S.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

from Noticias:

The future port of Corralejo will not host Cruises!
The maximum useful dock will be 160 meters, which will also be occupied by regular lines of transport of goods and passengers.
No, the new port of Corralejo will not mean the arrival of cruise ships to the northern town, at least not of cruises of great tonnage, something else could be cruise of high purchasing power like the ultra luxury sailboats of the Company Sea Cloud, but we would have to deal with the issue of the traffic of the ships of line. Remember that for example the Sea Cloud 2, a luxury cruiser-sailboat measures 117 meters in length, so it could fit in the new docks.

 

The reason is clear, the cruise ships of great tonnage, which come for example to Puerto del Rosario, do not fit in the projected dock. We are talking about boats of more than 250 meters in length, and the maximum functional of this new pier is 160 meters. No, these boats definitely don't fit in the Corralejo dock project.

 

"For the berthing of ferries and medium-sized vessels, three areas with ramps have been designed. The first berth, located in the third alignment of the shelter dock, provides a useful length of about 160 meters. The other two berths are located, approximately, in the center of the dock through a central jetty that has the function of hosting on each of its sides the berths for ferries of medium size, with an extension of 110 meters, "explained the counselor Franquis in his visit to the island.

 

In addition, the structure of the future Corralejo pier is designed to facilitate the transit of line passengers and goods between Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, as can be clearly seen in the images. In addition, to facilitate the maneuvers to the recreational boats of the area.

 

"With the design of the new commercial dock, a sheltered dock is achieved north of the current port, which will exclusively accommodate commercial traffic,expanding the capacity to three berths for ships of greater size than those currently operating. Likewise, the land area of commercial port operation, and its access road, are independent of those of fishing and recreational activity, "explains the counselor.

 

Unverified arguments

 

One of the reasons put forward by the ecologists in their letter against the creation of such infrastructure is this point of the megacruises, an issue that in this way is discarded, being in question statements such as that it is "a project that will promote the access of cruise ships and with them a model of mass tourism, completely alien to the context of climate emergency in which we already find ourselves".

 

The ecologists affirm in their argument to try to stop this infrastructure so necessary that "to carry out such a macroproject, aimed fundamentally at attracting the berthing of cruise ships, would be doing a disservice both to the inhabitants of Corralejo, as to the rest of Majoreros, because today cruise tourism is the most polluting tourism that exists, these large vessels burn low-quality fossil fuels. Their engines emit huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, both during their journey and once docked in the port, where they have to continue with the engines running", an issue that is completely ruled out.

 

Paralysis of basic projects for Fuerteventura

 

The configuration of the current corralejo pier dates back to 1,991, when the island of Majorca had 36,908 people registered. At the moment the population of the island triples those circumstances, with a 321% growth and the need for infrastructure is becoming more and more evident.

 

"Corralejo is one of the most active of all kinds within the ports of regional competence, with more than one million passengers and more than three hundred thousand vehicles a year in its obsolete facilities, making clear the importance of commercial relations, passenger flow and tourists that occur between both islands, " explained Franquis.

 

In this sense, tourists who travel to either of the two islands that form the "eastern axis" need facilities that give a certain sense of quality and modernity, an issue that is currently beginning to be fulfilled in Playa Blanca, but that in Corralejo is still obsolete. Tourism since 1991 has grown on the island by more than 500% and requires other facilities.

 
"Due to the conditions of its location, being the main communications hub between the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote next to its mirror port of Playa Blanca in Lanzarote, for its important and essential activity, as well as for reasons of operability and security, the expansion of this port has been proposed based on a differentiation by docks, separating the commercial activity from the relevant sports activity and excursions that this port also has, "said the counselor.