Appointed one year ago as director of the public company Ports de la Generalitat, Esther Roca, a lawyer by profession with extensive experience in public management, advocates for bringing the sea and maritime culture closer to citizens through the blue economy. In this way, she believes that society will be able to become involved in its conservation and progress will be made in the integration between the port and the city. Beyond the inherent need for administrations to fulfill their obligation to promote and articulate viable and interesting investments, she emphasizes the importance of them being sustainable. During the conversation, she reiterates the value of the administration being close to the citizen, but also to the port sector agents and the different ecosystems that comprise it. She defends pedagogy to bring worlds closer, that of the sea and that of the inland, which are condemned to understand each other. In the field of port administration, she has been head of the legal area of Ports de la Generalitat, technical director, and deputy director between 2020 and 2024.
What is your assessment of the cruise season and the trend in arrivals for the coming years?
This year we consider it has been a good performance. In cruises, we offer service in Palamós and Roses and occasionally in la Ràpita. We can state that the 2025 figures have been consolidated. Although the last cruise call will be on December 13th, the data shows our commitment to deseasonalization, as the season extends from March or April until December. We are talking about almost 70,000 passengers in Palamós and Roses with 72 calls. The estimated impact on the territory, according to CLIA, is 6.6 million euros. In global figures, this represents an increase of more than 30% in passengers and 40% in calls. We are reaching notable figures and recovering after the halt during the pandemic period. It is a type of activity that generates benefits in the territory, especially in the area of port-city integration. I would like to highlight that we already have 20 cruise companies that make regular calls in Catalonia and that new ones have joined this season, which demonstrates their interest in the tourist brand we have created. Our market is divided between the North American visitor, who represents 40%, and the remaining 60% comes from the European sphere.
With these growth figures, do you consider that the cruise model of Ports de la Generalitat is already at its limit to continue being sustainable?
We are close to the achievable maximum to be able to offer a series of services, such as security, pilotage, towing, control systems, or passenger mobility. We must take into account that in the port of Palamós we have limited space and we must balance the activity with that of merchant vessels. We are committed to the coexistence between the cruise sector, the passenger sector, and the cargo sector. In this case, both share a space and a temporality. Furthermore, we must be aware that the territory can absorb certain impacts and that we cannot go beyond that.
The cruise figures for this season are at the limit to guarantee us the balance between the different needs and activities, while maintaining a quality service.
“The cruise figures for this season are at the limit to guarantee us the balance between the different needs and activities, while maintaining a quality service”
What actions are being taken to promote the blue economy?
The blue economy is a strategic line for Ports de la Generalitat, which is included in the Port Plan, which functions as our roadmap until the year 2030. Promoting the economic and social activity of the ports that serves to connect access to the sea and oceans is one of our priorities. To carry it out, we try to optimize the spaces we have, facilitate access to the sea, or promote activities that involve innovation linked to the maritime world, such as knowledge or research. We facilitate the settlement and development of opportunity niches related to the sea that provide added value. The ports end up being a link between the territory, the population, and the sea, so we must facilitate this connection and interaction.
What is the status of the transformation of the port of la Ràpita into a ‘green port’? Are there any other similar initiatives?
The ‘green port’ of la Ràpita is in a pilot phase, where innovation tests are being carried out. There, a firm commitment has been made to the installation of renewable energies, such as photovoltaics, in the offices and all available surfaces. The goal is to be energetically self-sufficient and sustainable. In this context, it has also been chosen to install charging points for electric vehicles and to have a fleet of hybrid and electric vessels. La Ràpita has been promoted as an example of how this sustainable model can be achieved. It is evident that all these lines can be extended to the rest of the ports. In this case, photovoltaic panels have been installed on buildings of the Generalitat de Catalunya, but also on fishing auction halls. Improvements have also been made to electrical or water networks to achieve a more efficient use of energy.
What is the status of the repair works for the effects of the storms and what is the forecast for new infrastructures in the short term?
In 2020, the ‘Gloria’ storm required very significant emergency and urgent works, which involved an investment of more than 14 million euros. Beyond this episode, we have a constant investment policy, which is renewed annually. This very year, at the current execution rate, a budget of approximately 7.5 million euros has already been committed. In fact, in most cases, we are in the execution or tender phase of these works. We are working on actions such as replacing the roof of the auction hall in l’Escala, that of the goods warehouse in the port of Palamós, or changes to the water and electricity networks. Likewise, we are carrying out dredging in the harbor entrances to improve the draft and access of vessels in the port of Vilanova i la Geltrú or the installation of remotely managed containers for the fishing sector in the ports of Arenys de Mar or Vilanova i la Geltrú. Furthermore, in Cambrils we are deploying initiatives to promote port-city integration with improvements to the promenade and the conversion of the mirador de la Ampolla.
In all these actions, we take the climate emergency into account. For this reason, we install pergolas, vegetation, and other elements that act as a refuge from the high summer temperatures. Thus, we integrate these conditioning factors into the very design of the infrastructure due to the sensitivity that exists regarding this climatic area.
“In all our actions, we take the climate emergency into account, integrating it into the very design of the infrastructure due to the sensitivity that exists regarding the environmental sphere”
What do the operations of merchant vessels represent in the whole of the merchant ports managed by Ports de la Generalitat? Will this be a growing trend?
We have three commercial ports and two industrial ones. We believe we must strive for them to be competitive, even though they are very integrated into the territory compared to the dimension of other giants like Barcelona or Tarragona. But, at the same time, we can offer closer connectivity with local businesses. We are attentive to the traffic that consignees can attract, but we do try to ensure they are competitive activities that generate growth. Our function is to try to ensure there are no limitations on the possibility of moving any type of goods. Therefore, we facilitate the infrastructure and services to make it possible. In the case of Palamós, we have indeed achieved that coexistence and that opportunities are the same for all sectors.
What is the degree of compliance with the Ports Plan of Ports de la Generalitat, which foresees an investment of 30 million euros and measures for port-city integration?
The 2024-2027 investment plan is linked to the objectives of the Ports Plan. There are a series of actions, of which the most important are those related to the adaptation and mitigation of climate change. In this sense, as the port authority, we are responsible for ensuring that the protective infrastructures are functional. One of the priority axes is the constant improvement of the breakwater lines. We act in the different facilities to adapt them and reinforce the breakwaters or install containment elements like floating barriers. In parallel, another series of investments are planned in the fishing sector, in the nautical-sports sector, in port-city integration, or in transversal improvements so that the ports offer a better service. Now, at the end of the second year of the plan, we will review the degree of execution, but we are meeting the expected deadlines.
What improvements would be desirable to optimize the governance model of the ports? Decentralization in management, co-decision…?
It is true that there are major differences between the state port system, directed by Puertos del Estado, and the Catalan one, managed by Ports de la Generalitat. Being based on concepts like the Interport Compensation Fund, the state method can act as a disincentive for ports with better economic results, such as Algeciras, Valencia, or Barcelona. For this reason, I am aware that there is a demand to increase decision-making autonomy. Although the appointment of the presidents is a competence of the regional governments, there is an evident dependence on Puertos del Estado.
In the very strategic plan they drafted, many port authorities requested that greater autonomy, but, in turn, the Ministry of Transport wants to maintain significant weight in the port structure. In our case, we have the exclusive competence by statute. If, in a bilateral commission between the central Government and the Generalitat, there were political will, the transfer of competence in the management of ports of general interest, such as Barcelona or Tarragona, could be carried out. Just as the management of the airport is demanded, the same could be done with the ports.
At the level of the Catalan port system, we have full autonomy. In this sense, we have all the decision-making power. Although there are concurrent competences, the management of the public port domain belongs to the Generalitat of Catalunya. The Catalan administration has two instruments to do this: the Ports Plan and the Ports Law, which came into force in 2020. The latter defines the management system and proposes a new governance. Based on this law, Ports de la Generalitat de Catalunya assumes the management of all port facilities, regardless of whether they are private initiative marinas or those transferred with different types of activity. Thus, we will direct the port infrastructure and the Department of Territory, the policy and the strategy. The regulation is in the processing phase and some new governance tools are foreseen, such as the Port Council, with all the interest groups linked to the administration, which advises it, and the figure of the Port Councils is contemplated, which facilitates greater participation from each port. The new ports law of the Generalitat will facilitate new elements of governance and participation. The forecast is for the regulation to be approved during the year 2026.
What is the situation of the fishing sector after the strikes carried out due to the measures to cut days of activity, proposed by the European Union?
The community reorganization plan for fishing activity proposed by the European Union (EU) is exorbitant, especially for the trawl fleet, as it suggests an 80% reduction in working days. We have always supported the claims of the Generalitat on the need to adjust the measures to adapt to the reality of Catalan fishermen. In many cases, the sustainability demands that were being requested were already being applied. It is essential to modify such drastic requirements, as different scientific studies advise. From the administration, aid has been articulated for the fishing fleet to comply with these requirements, but a relaxation of the regulations is a priority so that the activity continues to be viable because in certain territories fishing is essential for the economic survival of the population.
