Tripp Miller.MaóThe Balearic Government, the Island Council of Menorca and the Ciutadella Town Council agreed on the construction of a commercial port complex at Son Blanc Thursday in order to resolve security problems in the port of Ciutadella. The Balearic Government assumes the complete financial responsibility of the project, which will cost about 30 million euros. Construction of the complex will begin sometime in the next nine months.
The Island Council proposed the facility at Son Blanc Wednesday at Sa Roqueta. The jetty that will shelter the facility from tidal bores will be four metres high, 20 metres wide and 395 metres long. It will be able to resist up to 8 metre swells, according to José María Berenguer, of Berenguer Engineers which designed the complex.
The new commercial port at Son Blanc will provide two wharfs of 130 and 100 metres in length, which will allow the simultaneous operation of two passenger ships. The complex will also include a 793-square-metre maritime station, parking lot and bus stop.
Another part of the agreement will extend Cala en Busquets 60 metres back. Up to 111 boats of at least 8 metres in length may be moored to floating docks that will be placed in the newly expanded bay. The Cala en Busquets project will also include a dry marina with capacity for 180 boats, a new road that will go around the complex, the Club Nàutic and a parking lot.
According to the engineer, the project will provide more than 240 recreational moorings in the port.
The president of the Balearic Government, Jaume Matas; the president of the Island Council of Menorca, Joana Barceló; and the mayor of Ciutadella, Llorenç Brondo, announced the agreement Thursday morning after a meeting in the Consolat de Mar.
"Thanks to this agreement we will make the project our own and we will start the proceedings today so that it can run without obstacles," Matas said. He emphasised that the council´s proposal "meets the conditions" that the Balearic Government demanded on 30th June.
The Balearic Government had said that for an agreement to be reached, the council´s proposal would have to transfer the activity of passenger ships to the exterior of the port, as well as provide sufficient moorings within the port.
Matas guaranteed the financing of the project would be covered by the Balearic Government and thanked the Ciutadella Town Council for its sacrifices and patience throughout the process. According to the president, the project "provides a solution to the traffic problem" in the port.
The president of the Island Council, Joana Barceló, marked Thursday as an important day for Ciutadella and ensured that the agreement "accounted for many of the port´s needs, all of which are legitimate." She emphasised that the council´s proposal fulfils two requirements; maintaining the image of the port while also transferring commercial traffic to its exterior "with minimal environmental cost."
