Valenciaport has positioned itself as a benchmark in the relationship between the port and the city, favoring the harmonization of the port environment to make it closer to the city with milestones such as the transfer to the city of the Balcón al Mar in 2013 or more recently the Special Plan of the South Zone 1 for the Nazaret area. The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) has been invited by the World Bank to present its good practices in the port-city relationship, digitalization and decarbonization as an international reference in the framework of the "Green Transport in Turkey" program held in the city of Izmir (Turkey).
The head of Strategic Planning and Innovation of the PAV, Juan Manuel Díez Orejas, explained at this forum that "our management model is oriented towards dialogue and the search for initiatives that develop the complementarity of the Port and the City".
In this regard, it is worth highlighting the creation in 2015, at the proposal of the President of the Port Authority of Valencia, of the Advisory Committees of the ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandía. These bodies are chaired by the mayors of each of these cities and are integrated into the Delegate Commission of the Council for the Promotion of Territorial Integration with the aim of effectively promoting the resolution of the issues that each city faces and reaching a consensus on city-port integration actions. Furthermore, in the case of Valencia, it is worth highlighting the agreements between the City Council and the Port of Valencia in 1986, 1997, 2013 and 2018.
The result of this collaboration is the 2019 agreement on the Special Plan for South Zone 1, which will provide the Nazaret area of the city with new green, tertiary and sports spaces, with the location of the Levante UD sports city, an action that will boost the economy of the area and the urban and social regeneration of the neighborhood. This plan is of great importance for the relationship between the city of Valencia and its port, given that it contemplates the dedication for public use of an area of 230,000 square meters of port land equivalent to more than 40 football pitches.
During his presentation at the forum held in Izmir, Díez Orejas also highlighted the agreement between the APV and the city council of Valencia in 2013, where the Port of Valencia ceded 1,200,000 square meters in the northern part of the port area for the use of the public. 600,000 of them for the America's Cup and another 600,000 for the Balcón al mar.
Other actions based on innovation and sustainability
In terms of environmental sustainability, the head of Valenciaport explained in this forum promoted by the World Bank the actions being carried out by Valenciaport in its goal of zero emissions by 2030. Among them, he pointed out initiatives such as the use of hydrogen in port operations, which makes the Port of Valencia a pioneer in Europe in the use of this clean energy, the projects to install photovoltaic plants in the València and Gandia sites, and the promotion of rail connections to take containers off the road.
Regarding to technological transformation, initiatives such as OPENTOP, the open innovation center for the port logistics sector that will serve as a lever to attract talent and develop innovative ideas and solutions for the sector; or the Ports 4.0 Fund, coordinated by Puertos del Estado together with the other Port Authorities, which is the largest support fund for open innovation in Europe, should be highlighted.
