Alicante Port Plans

By opening over the city of Alicante, the sea, recreational facilities, and the sports marina, the Port eliminated troublesome industrial facilities, such as fuel tanks of CLH, and placed them away from the city to protect the environment and quality of life of the citizens.

In 1995 the city of Alicante, the Port Authority, the government of the nation, and the government signed an agreement to remove the fuel tanks at the port, which received 19 million euros, mostly from EU subsidies.

As stated: “In the future there should be no storage facilities and distribution of petroleum products in the port of Alicante.” “…avoids the negative impact resulting from potential accidents, with its consequent impact on facilities petroleum products located in the vicinity of inhabited areas.”

It was also added that it “…reduces the risk of traffic accidents by vehicles transporting petroleum products within the urban core.” The signatories also felt that the agreement was “a clear interest, impacting positively on the environmental aspects.”

In 1999 this transfer took place, and the Port Authority received bids to build a new leisure complex on land that was released from the reservoirs.

Also in 1999, the city of Alicante, ruled by Luis Diaz Alperi, granted the license to the company of works of Marina West to build an entertainment complex in the port. The granting of the license occurred despite the fact that the building project exceeded the maximum established in the Special Plan of Puerto de Alicante.

In 2003 the Port Authority obtained the environmental permit for the expansion of the Port zone based on this model commercial port. The project was financed with funds from the European Union.

In this way the Port of Alicante had a chance to grow and develop along with the city, creating a better environment for the maritime city, which was in the plans of Alicante, with the simultaneous removal of the old industries in the south entrance to Alicante away from the industrial town. Alicante

In 1990 the Port of Alicante experienced perhaps the most radical change in its history. The Special Plan of the Port (SPP) of 1992 allowed its expansion to the south and became a part of it into a space for recreation and promenade with restaurants, bars, and pubs.

Aiming to achieve a lesser visual impact and considering the law of maritime landscape protection, which prohibits the construction of tall buildings a few meters from the Mediterranean coast, the PEP set a maximum height for buildings in the expansion port area, leaving the way open for certain structures (e.g. cranes) beyond this point if need be demonstrated.

The City Council authorized the construction of new dwellings on land adjacent to the zone of expansion of the Port, in the neighborhoods of San Gabriel, Benalua, and Babel, where 21% of the city residents lived, thus keeping a strong union with the port city. Until 2006 the expansion of the Port remained faithful to this model.

Despite all this, the vast majority of people were in favor of the construction and supported the project because it was vital to the economic development of the eastern capital.

Controversy Regarding the Expansion

In 2006 there were significant changes in the relationship between the Port of Alicante and the city. Without subjecting the public debate, the Alicante Port Authority voted to change the land use of the zone of extension (previously requested and approved as a commercial use) to an industrial use. It was thus started as project to build a huge industrial area in the area of enlargement.