The Port of Barcelona opposes the proposal included in the conclusions of Foment del Treball to extend the third runway 840 meters to the east by means of an elevated platform on La Ricarda. This has been conveyed by the president of the port entity, Lluís Salvadó, to the president of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre.
In a letter sent on October 20 to which La Vanguardia has had access, Salvadó emphasizes that, as he has been reiterated "on several occasions", this proposal "puts the present and future of the Port of Barcelona at risk." He considers that extending the runway in this way "impossible" the operation of the current container terminal at the Prat Dock, and the future transfer of the second container terminal to the future Catalunya Dock.
"As you already know, publicly generating serious uncertainties about the future of a private activity impacts not only its continuity in the medium term, but also the making of strategic business decisions that are being debated right now," Salvadó writes to Sánchez Llibre. .
The Port argues that the size of current container ships already requires taller cranes to be able to operate in Barcelona. They also explain that they have been working for two years and requiring the administrations responsible for air traffic to be able to raise the cranes from 80 to 90 meters high. "The port can no longer operate efficiently with the largest vessels as a result of the impact of the easements derived from the proximity of the airport," Salvadó complains in the letter.
"A future expansion of the airport to the north will aggravate this situation - he adds - and will put at risk the essential transfer to the south of the terminal closest to the city."
The president of the Port goes further and states that it seems "serious" that the employers' association is proposing an extension of 840 meters to the north "even though the Port of Barcelona has been repeatedly informed of these serious potential effects."
