After six months at the helm of the Port of Tarragona, coming from the academic and political world, Santiago J. Castellà reflects on his tenure as president of the entity. Drawing from his experience as a professor and manager, but also from his connection to the region and prior initiatives that allowed him to firsthand understand the port. Beyond the unwanted competition with other major Mediterranean ports like Algeciras, Valencia, or Barcelona, the president defends Tarragona’s ability to attract industry thanks to investments such as the ZAL, the La Boella railway intermodal station, or the Guadalajara-Marchamalo station, which could be operational after the summer. Additionally, he advocates for Tarragona’s energy positioning through green hydrogen or offshore wind.
What is your initial assessment after half a year as president of the Port of Tarragona?
The presidency of the Port of Tarragona represents a logical culmination related to my professional trajectory. When I was dean of the Faculty of Law, I had many concerns regarding the relationships of territorial environments and environmental law—that is, organizing a territory with significant growth potential. Later, as vice-rector of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), I was responsible for territorial relations, coinciding with the development of the first Strategic Plan for Camp de Tarragona. During my time as a senator, I also worked to understand the opportunities the territory holds. As the government’s subdelegate in Tarragona, I experienced the period of the European Next Generation funds, which I managed with the municipalities. After this evolution, I saw it as a natural step for the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Salvador Illa, to propose me as president of the Port of Tarragona. In this context, the port is a fundamental tool for the territory—arguably the most important for it to become what it aspires to be.
What is your opinion on the criticism regarding appointments to port presidencies, influenced or determined by political affiliation?
Appointments have always been marked by this concept, as political orientation is considered essential. Alignment with the policies aimed at transforming the territory must follow this path. Then, just as with city councils or provincial councils, there are prepared technical teams that handle the day-to-day operations of the entity or administration. They help translate political lines into action based on technical needs. Similarly, I believe my profile is not distant from the port world, as I mentioned earlier, the logic of my professional trajectory aligns well with the current moment of the Port of Tarragona.
In the immediate future, what can the Port of Tarragona contribute to compete with others like Algeciras, Valencia, or Barcelona, which position themselves by volume?
Tarragona is very well positioned due to its strategic location between the ports of Barcelona and Valencia. We are part of the top tier of state ports, ranking sixth among those of general interest. Its two major strengths are its connection with the petrochemical industry, which forms an almost symbiotic relationship with the port, and with which we have forged an alliance to further develop it.
The other essential point for Tarragona is the grain traffic, where we have positioned ourselves as the most important port in the Mediterranean for the entry of this product. The great opportunity for the Port of Tarragona is that we are two minutes away from the Mediterranean Corridor. The major railway line that will transport goods from Algeciras to northern Europe will pass very close to the Port of Tarragona. Additionally, considering the level of saturation in Barcelona or Valencia, the port has a very strong market niche through the storage and transportation space we can provide. At the same time, we are at the ideal crossroads to reach the center of the Iberian Peninsula. That is why we are going to launch the Guadalajara-Marchamalo terminal, which, located one hour from Madrid, allows us to have a large number of railway slots to deliver goods to many points in the country and to all of Europe in just a few hours. Ports must work to provide goods with a complete logistics chain and an industrial environment that makes them competitive. In this regard, Tarragona is very well positioned.
Beyond traditional traffic, such as chemicals and agri-food, how is the port diversifying its activity?
In all ports in the country, geopolitics and the international context have led to a decline in cargo traffic. After exceptionally good, record-breaking years like 2023 and 2024, April seems to have brought back the positive results we did not see at the beginning of the year. The chemical sector is also performing optimally. We have opened new cargo lines, such as iron ore or coal to supply some power plants around the Italian islands. However, our bet is to define the Andalusia Dock as a multipurpose terminal. We are working on various ideas to attract container traffic again. The Boella and Guadalajara-Marchamalo terminals will give us the option to regain significant container traffic volume.
When is the multipurpose terminal expected to become operational?
It is in the study and definition phase. I believe we will have the port organized, with the works on the Balearic Dock, the Contradique, the electrification of the cruise terminal and the multipurpose terminal, as well as the spaces for chemicals, by 2028. That year will be key for the port. We will see the first results of all the investments we are making.
Now that it has just started, what are the forecasts for the cruise season?
The history of cruises in the Port of Tarragona is a success story. I was able to confirm this recently at the international ‘Seatrade Cruise’ fair in Miami. In a short time, we have positioned ourselves appropriately in global markets. This places us very well in areas like territory-linked branding. It is not so much about measuring the number of cruise passengers or the spending associated with their stay, but rather the fact that being a cruise port allows us to explain that there is a territory and an entity behind it. Thus, we stop being the south of Barcelona and become Tarragona. This positioning favors our progress in terms of investment, talent attraction, and business. Currently, around 140,000 cruise passengers arrive.
The trend appears to be settling on the arrival of more ships, but with fewer passengers. On the other hand, we anticipate that by 2028, the Muelle Baleares will also be fully electrified, which will help us simultaneously connect two large cruise ships or three smaller ones.
His predecessor in the position, Saül Garreta, firmly committed to the sustainable component. Will this strategy continue, beyond regulatory constraints?
All ports must consider, one way or another, the transition toward sustainability. As ports, we can support and even drive the decarbonization process of Tarragona’s chemical industry. We also have spaces to work on new energy initiatives. Specifically, a major opportunity is opening up with offshore wind. In the Port of Tarragona, we aim to position ourselves as an offshore wind hub in the Mediterranean, as this will be a strategic sector, and Catalonia wants to be part of the global debate. Tarragona must aspire to be the Mediterranean port leading the construction of offshore wind facilities. At the same time, we will develop initiatives for new fuels, especially green hydrogen. We must also be able to explain this clearly to the public, as these projects come with significant investments. For example, we will be the first port in Europe to include a Natura 2000 Network within its spaces. We can speak of Tarragona as a green port that wants to play in the top tier of the ecological transition.
What is the timeline for the three major pending projects of the port: the ZAL, the Boella terminal, and Guadalajara-Marchamalo?
The ZAL, which is nearly completed, is the most attractive industrial development land in Catalonia, according to the Generalitat. It spans 90 hectares, enabling maritime traffic and a railway station equipped with both European and Iberian gauge, electrified, in addition to road access. In this context, the arrival of a strong industry is expected to enrich the ecosystem of the Port of Tarragona, which will become a key player in the territory’s reindustrialization. We are considering sectors like electric vehicles, semiconductors, or car batteries. Currently, there are already over 40 interested companies with whom contacts have been made to settle in the future ZAL lands. The Boella is finished, while the handover of Guadalajara-Marchamalo is scheduled for September. In fact, we are working with other ports, such as Barcelona or Bilbao, to offer the full capacity that Boella and Marchamalo will generate for the logistics sector. More than a port project, this is a strategic national initiative.
Do you see it as necessary for the port to advance in the integration or merger of port authorities to gain competitiveness?
It is no longer a matter of size, but collaboration between Tarragona and Barcelona can create opportunities and benefits for all of Catalonia. Both presidents are publicly committed to this collaboration, which will only yield positive results. Viewing Tarragona as a port situated between Barcelona and Valencia can be analyzed as either a problem or an opportunity.
We have aligned all our assets to maximize the potential provided by our strategic geographic location.
What is your opinion on the criticism regarding excessive bureaucratic oversight and administrative supervision processes by Puertos del Estado over ports of general interest?
The governance model of the port system in Spain can be considered a success story. The growth of the ports has been extraordinary. Although the debate between more autonomy and more centralization will always persist. The revision of the Ports Law is underway, but I believe that with the current framework, we have all learned how to operate. In fact, we have more instruments and autonomy capacity than we sometimes exercise. In my case, I always focus on the strategic definition of where we want to go, and then the tools will follow.
