Focusing on the plans of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) for the redesign and reordering of the port of La SavinaThis Wednesday the Consell d’Entitats de Formentera will meet again in the face of criticism of the unified bidding process for the west and east docks. Although the entities are waiting for the assistance of the president of the APB, Javier Sanz, in principle, is not planning to travel to the smaller pitiusa.
As they have responded to La Voz de Ibiza from the Port Authority, “we have no news (about the call). In any case it will be informed in due course”.
The truth is that, in recent weeks, there have been accumulated press releases and statements from political groups questioning the scope of the tender announced by the APB that, in many cases, go against the truth.A story sown mainly among Gent per Formentera, the Socialist Party and -to a lesser extent- Sa Unió, which is riddled with falsehoods.
Lies and truths
25 years of concession
Both GxF and PSOE have criticized the 25-year concession term. Alejandra Ferrer, president of GxF, has stated that this “will convert theport of La Savina into a monopoly, increasing the prices of moorings and commercial premises, and turning its back on recreational boating.”
Along these lines, also in statements made during a talk show on Ràdio Illa, the socialist Ana Juan said that “the fact of granting a single concession is to create a monopoly, and monopolies are never good”.
While Hugo Martínez, councilor of Sa Unió, added that “we consider that a 25-year monopoly, a priori, is not something positive for our island and we do not know the pros and cons of what this means. Therefore, it is very difficult to position ourselves in favor of this initiative. We need the port, as the main point of entry and exit of our island, to be as fair as possible for our citizens, to have more life and, of course, that the benefits are not only for a few”.
It is true: the concession will be for 25 years, as advanced by the APB. What is striking is that GxF and PSOE encouraged to give the so-called Yacht Club of Formentera the eastern dock (which accounts for 60% of the total number of moorings of the port) for the same number of years and with a practically derisory investment with the aim of promoting nautical activities and, mainly, access to affordable moorings.
At the time, both parties supported “unconditionally” this procedure under the figure of competition for 25 years in favor of the CNF, to manage 91 moorings with a total investment of 1,200,000 euros. That is, a fee of 48,000 euros per year.
The APB has justified the unification of the docks into a single one in that the greater efficiency of space and resources has allowed new mooring points and lower operating costs to emerge, which will result in lower rates than under the current two-dock model.
Investment in La Savina
The left-wing groups have also warned that the minimum investment required from the concessionaire is 18 million euros, which will cause an increase in the prices of moorings and commercial premises.
“This will automatically mean that the concessionaire will have to recover that money and, consequently, raise the prices of moorings, commercial premises, etc. And the APB already makes enough profit from the port of Formentera to make the necessary reforms and investments without the need to privatize its management for so long,” Ferrer said.
However, according to official information from the APB, the company awarded the contract will have to make a minimum investment of 15 million euros. Precisely, the long term is a response to the important disbursement that the winning company will have to make, contrary to the logic argued by Ferrer.
It is that the 25 years favor the amortization of the investment. The math is simple: a shorter concession period will inevitably lead to an increase in the price of moorings and rents for commercial premises.
Social ties
“Mooring prices have no set limit. There is no space reserved for small private boats at affordable prices. There is no dry marina area”. said the GxF spokeswoman.
It is true: the contest rules do not establish a price limit for social moorings. However, the APB has advanced that “will value in its bases the reduction of rates for moorings, especially for boats up to eight meters in length. Also for the rates of commercial premises, terraces, parking, electricity supplies, lifting services, launching and launching of the dry dock.
He has also reported that the facility will have “a dry marina”, another mantra repeated by the left that is far from reality.
On the other hand, the tender provides, as a minimum, a space of 55 base moorings throughout the year reserved for boats up to 8 meters in length. In addition, it must be taken into account that when a new concessionaire enters, it obviously inherits the bases, which are currently more adding both docks.
Therefore, in principle, there will be more than the 55 social moorings established as mandatory by the APB’s specifications.
Mega yachts
Ferrer also said that “the size of the vessels is not limited, which allows the entry of mega yachts“.
This is a half-truth since it is true that there is no written limitation although the same mooring rearrangement establishes it de facto.
Of the current 180 moorings on the water sheet, the mandatory distribution according to the tender is as follows:
- 75 charter berths during the high season (June-September).
- 55 base moorings throughout the year.
- 6 moorings for official organizations (Guardia Civil, Maritime Rescue, Customs, etc.).
Thus, 44 moorings would be freed for yachts and mega yachts.
The claim of a yacht club
To this is added the claim for a space reserved for a yacht club that, in practice, Formentera does not have.
“No space is contemplated for the yacht club,” said Ferrer. This in reference to the claim of the Yacht Club of Formentera to manage moorings in the port of La Savina.
It is an institution that has no sporting activity and whose registration with the Balearic Sailing Federation was rejected for failing to comply with Article 1 of Decree 147/1997, which regulates the “constitution and operation of sports clubs in the area of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands”.
Fear of foreign investors
Ferrer also said that “talking about a single marina, in addition to implying a monopoly, makes the competition much more attractive to large foreign investors, who do not care what happens in Formentera If to all this we add the absolute lack of transparency, the result is obvious”.
Transparency
This is a point on which the three political forces of Formentera have agreed: GxF, PSOE and Sa Unió.
Almost in unison they have demanded that the citizens of Formentera have a voice in the process through the Consell d’Entitats.
All this despite the fact that the president of the APB, Javier Sanz, has metwith the president of the Consell Insular, Óscar Portas, and has explained the main points of the tender to the island’s political groups.
In addition, last December 9 Sanz has chaired the celebration of the Navigation and Port Council of the port la Savina, where he said that “we are in constant contact and, in addition to the Board of Directors, there is a person from the Consell de Formentera, to see their concerns and what they need, and we have collected everything they have asked us”.
The contradictory position of the Consell
The president of the Consell Insular, Óscar Portas has said in the last plenary session that the island institution has hired a legal team to appeal the competition through administrative litigation.
This is a preventive administrative litigation because to date the bases are still a mystery.
However, the Consell’s representative on the APB’s Board of Directors did not skimp on praise for the bidding process.“It is a very well worked, consensual and that includes virtually all the requests made from Formentera,” Artal Mayans said at the session,
Charter
They have also raised that there is no “space reserved for recreational boating and charter boats,” according to Ferrer .
However, the tender provides for a “minimum fleet of 75 berths for charter during the four months of high season from June to September”, in addition to a “dry marina for charter boats up to seven meters in length“.
