The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) confirmed this Thursday, during the press conference after the Navigation and Port Council, that it accepts the reduction of buildability in Marina Ibiza introduced by the Ibiza Town Hall in the urban prescriptions to the Special Plan of the port, and that it considers this measure as “positive”.
The president of the APB, Javier Sanz; the director, Toni Ginard; and the maritime captain of Ibiza and Formentera, Luis Gascón, were the ones who answered questions from the media.
The port agency explained that the document being processed already incorporates the municipal criteria, which returns Area 5 -the one corresponding to Marina Ibiza- to the parameters set in the first version of the plan approved in December 2023, leaving without effect the increase in meters and uses that the APB had proposed in the second version processed in 2024.
In response to a direct question from La Voz de Ibiza on whether the APB accepted the reduction of buildability and why, the head of the agency said: “We have accepted the condition set by the City Council, which is to reduce the buildability in Marina Ibiza. We see it as a positive development because it coincides with what the previous consistory had already approved and, therefore, there is a political consensus on this criterion”.
The APB spokesman added that this acceptance allows “to continue advancing towards the final approval of the Special Plan”, although he did not go into economic implications nor did he technically justify why the buildability foreseen in the second version of the document is now discarded.
What changes for Marina Ibiza
The decision implies maintaining for Area 5 the values of:
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2,905 m² of occupancy,
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2,453 m² of buildable area,
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and a limitation of uses similar to that of 2023, with no consolidation of existing expansions or activities related to nightlife.
In practice, Marina Ibiza will have less buildable area than at present and its complementary offer will be reduced, with less surface area for commercial and recreational uses and without the possibility of a discotheque, which means a more limited model compared to the one the concessionaire had been defending in its allegations.
The reduction of about 1,300 square meters mentioned in the allegations corresponds to the difference between what the APB came to propose in the second version of the Special Plan (3,902 m² of buildability) and the 2,453 m² to which the City Council forces to return. The real reduction with respect to the Marina Ibiza that exists today is even greater, because in recent years the marina has grown beyond what was allowed in the first version of the plan.
Criticism from the concessionaire
The reduction has generated an open conflict with the concessionaire. In September, Marina Ibiza publicly denounced a “discriminatory” treatment in the Special Plan, understanding that the reduction of buildability in its area -33.3% less than the parameters introduced by the APB in 2024- has no equivalent in other areas of the port.
That same day, the company requested the nullity of the second initial approval of the Special Plan, considering that it was processed without all the necessary documentation and that there is a lack of clarity between the proposals of the APB and the requirements of the City Council.
The concessionaire argues that the updated restrictions “devalue” its concession and hinder the competitiveness of the marina as a high-level nautical-sports infrastructure.
Despite Marina Ibiza’s objections, the APB closed its position on Thursday regarding the buildability of Area 5. With this statement, the agency confirms that it maintains the most restrictive line for the final version of the Special Plan, whose final approval is still pending.
The decision is part of an urban planning process that accumulates numerous adjustments, allegations and revisions, and that has made the Marina Ibiza area one of the most sensitive points of the future development of the port.
