Comsa and Vopi 4 will build the blue economy complex at the Port of Barcelona for €52 million.

BarcelonaThe Port of Barcelona's future blue economy innovation center is preparing to begin construction. Work will begin next month on the former sheds –port warehouses– of the Sant Bertran wharf, next to the Ronda Litoral and just beyond the Trasmed boarding terminal. A new chapter for a complex built in the 1960s, which had been forgotten and will now serve to accommodate startups,scale-ups, accelerators, institutions and universities linked to all the economic opportunities that the sea can offer.

The construction of the hubThe contract for the Blue Tech Port has been awarded to Comsa and Vopi 4 for €52.3 million, slightly more than expected. The work, which will begin in the coming weeks, is estimated to take two and a half years.

This involves a comprehensive renovation of the six warehouses that formed the old warehouses and the creation of a promenade that will serve as a link between the different warehouses. In total, 25,700 square meters will be used. The renovation was designed by b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos, the same Barcelona firm that designed the Mercat dels Encants and is also working on the future Sagrera station and Hall Zero (the new pavilion for the Hospitalet de Llobregat Fair).

Despite the imminent start of construction, the idea for the Blue Tech Port has been in the works for years. First, a space was made available at Pier 01, a pioneering building dedicated to hosting startups created by Tech Barcelona, which has since been replicated in other parts of the city. Subsequently, despite knowing that a complete renovation of the sheds was necessary, activity began in the building, and one of the Sant Bertran warehouses was opened at the end of last year.

For now, more than 15 startups and two research centers are part of the hub. The American consulting firm Braid Theory, the start-ups Ocean Ecostructures and Bloom Fish, and the BCN Clúster Náutico are some examples of these first tenants. All have relocated until the construction work is finished nearby, in the World Trade Center Barcelona, ​​​​the company that operates this business center in the port, and which is 76% owned by the Port Authority of Barcelona (APB) and the rest is in the hands of the construction company FCC. The WTC will manage the Blue Tech Port for 36 years and will be the one who will assume the investment.

When it is operational, it is estimated that the space will be able to accommodate more than 2,500 workers from the companies that are part of thehubBut it won't all be office space. One of the goals of the Blue Tech Port will be the transfer and acceleration of knowledge. In the case of the blue economy, this means having access to water. That's why 50 linear meters of dock have been reserved so that companies in the center can test their products, such as underwater drones. While the work is ongoing, a space has been created for companies tostartupsTest their solutions on the left side of the Barcelona dock, where the Baleària terminal used to be and is now open to the public for a walk.