Granadilla Port's Final Dock Tender Documents Set for March 6 Approval

The Port of Granadilla, which caused a lot of social and environmental debate in Tenerife during its construction, is nearing completion. The final step is finishing its Ribera dock, which will make the port fully operational. Reports indicate that the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife's Board of Directors plans to approve the final tender documents for this work on March 6.

These remaining works involve building the last 543 meters of the dock, bringing its total length to the planned 1,045 meters. This phase is estimated to cost 39.7 million euros and was approved by the Council of Ministers on February 10. Pedro Suárez, president of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, expects the contract to be awarded in six to seven months, meaning work could begin by the end of this year. The construction is expected to take about two years, with the dock finished by late 2028 and full operations starting in 2029. The port also includes a large land area next to the dock.

Even though it's not fully finished, the port is already active. It handles gas deliveries for DISA, supports a wind turbine project, and carries out various ship repair jobs.

The Port of Granadilla was officially opened eight years ago, on March 2, 2018. The ceremony was led by Mariano Rajoy, who was then Spain's prime minister, alongside Public Works Minister Íñigo de la Serna. This opening, which featured oil platforms and a cargo ship carrying wind turbine blades, happened 17 years after the Ministry of Public Works first approved the project. Rajoy stated that 362 million euros had been invested in total, with 200 million already spent, and he stressed the Canary Islands' potential as a major global logistics center. Fernando Clavijo, then president of the Canary Islands, pointed out that the new port would help diversify how goods are transported between the island's north and south.

The port's construction faced strong opposition from environmental groups and some local residents, who protested against the project. However, its final size ended up being smaller than originally planned. Antonio Machado, an ecologist who headed the Granadilla Environmental Observatory, commented at the time that the actual environmental impact wasn't as extreme as either side had predicted.

While the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife expects the port to be fully operational in three years, it is still far from creating the 20,000 jobs that were promised or becoming the "great economic engine" for Tenerife, even eight years after it opened.