Vehicles are one of the main goods moved by the Port of Barcelona, closely linked to the local automotive industry with leading companies such as Seat. It is the leading port in Spain for this traffic and fifth in all of Europe. A position that was becoming insufficient. "We decided we wanted to take a step further," explained its president, José Alberto Carbonell, this Thursday at the laying of the first stone of the future car terminal of the Japanese logistics giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), which will be located at the Muelle Príncipe de España.

In an increasingly complex geopolitical context, the Port of Barcelona registered a decline in trade with China and the United States during February. Tariff threats and the conflict in the Red Sea explain this impact in early 2026 on both markets, which, moreover, performed very well last year. All of this is without yet fully accounting for the impact that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been having on international trade since the beginning of this month.

The board of directors of the Port of Barcelona gave the green light this Wednesday to the tender for a multipurpose public maritime terminal, located on the Príncipe de España dock, to be awarded through a concession. This tender is being launched following the expiration of the current concession later this year. The new terminal will ensure the continuity of general cargo activity, not contained within containers, traffic that is "essential for the Port's strategic positioning." According to a statement from the port authority, without this tender, the service would be monopolized. "The objective is to guarantee a competitive service, open to third parties and aligned with the logistical and industrial needs of the region," the organization stated. The future facility will have an area of ​​87,425 square meters, in addition to the office buildings and parking, which will be maintained, while the remaining structures may be renovated or replaced according to the winning bidder's proposal.

With plant-based protein gaining market share, the US-based Viserion Group, through its Catalan subsidiary Elian, is committed to increasing production at the Port of Barcelona. The company will invest €200 million to expand its existing facilities at the Álvarez de la Campa dock, where it processes soybeans, a high-protein legume used in products such as vegetarian burgers. The work, which began this Monday, will double the factory's current size, expanding it to 90,000 square meters to increase capacity. "This is a very important milestone. We are not only investing in a new plant, we are contributing to the country by writing a new industrial chapter," said Elian's CEO, Andrés Martín, at the groundbreaking ceremony, accompanied by authorities such as the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu; the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau; and the President of the Port of Barcelona, ​​José Alberto Carbonell.

Rail freight transport has seen everything suddenly come to a standstill.Gelida commuter train accident, where a train driver died, cutting off passenger traffic, but also that of the trains that They carry cargo From the port of Barcelona to the rest of Spain. A blockade that worsened with the closure of the Rubí tunnel, an infrastructure located on the route of goods to Europe and which has had internal cracks for some time. The solution to this standstill was to return to road transport those few goods that are currently being moved by rail. Weeks later, rail container traffic has resumed, but with restrictions and the expectation that this precarious situation will continue for years.

International freight transport will take time to return to normal. The works to improve the Rubí tunnel will last for three years, as ARA has learned. Adif has announced the new operating hours for the infrastructure, which is affected by structural deficiencies that forced its closure two weeks ago and disrupted shipments to Europe of goods arriving by sea at the port of Barcelona, ​​as well as those coming by train from the French border.

After being closed for a week, the Rubí tunnel partially reopened this Thursday at midday, according to sources at Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager). This marks the beginning of the reactivation of international freight rail traffic, which had been halted both at the Port of Barcelona and at the French border. The first train to pass through the Rubí tunnel was a test train, operated by Captrain, to ensure the safety of the infrastructure. This test run is similar to the trial runs carried out on the Rodalies commuter rail lines before they reopen, as industry sources indicate. Next will be a train coming from Germany and destined for the Port of Barcelona. It had been stopped for fifteen days between France and Figueres, loaded with cars from the Mercedes-Benz group, and is therefore known as the "Mercedes-Benz train." Daimler, referring to one of the founders of the automotive group.

The rail chaos in Catalonia, affecting both commuter and freight services, coupled with the closure of the AP-7 highway, has a cost, currently incalculable, for the Catalan economy. The full impact will likely become clear when the first-quarter GDP figures are calculated, but for now, the consequences are lost work hours, goods not arriving and even industries being paralyzed, and public funds being used to pay for the removal of tolls on the C-32 highway—already around 9 million euros for the lower section alone—or for the rent. On Tuesday, the government approved an allocation of over 4 million euros. The true cost, however, is difficult to calculate when the logistics sector is forced to seek alternatives to rail transport, whose costs skyrocket, or when some companies, like Inovyn in Martorell, which has halted production, are not receiving the raw materials they need to manufacture their products. In fact, the chemical sector is one of the most affected, especially in the province of Barcelona, ​​and not so much in Tarragona, where many of the goods are moved through the pipeline transfer network (rack).

The rail chaos in Catalonia has had a major impact on operations at the Port of Barcelona and all the goods that usually leave daily by train from its terminals. the Gelida commuter train accidentThe train accident that resulted in the death of a driver has affected trains traveling south. This disruption has intensified since last week, when the Rubí tunnel, used by trains connecting to France, had to be closed. This situation has led to the national and international disruption of the Port of Barcelona and a 10% increase in daily truck traffic at the port to handle container shipments.

The rail chaos that Catalonia has been experiencing for the past week is worsening. The closure of the Rubí tunnel has disrupted freight traffic leaving the Port of Barcelona bound for France. After detecting a crack in the tunnel's return section, the port has had to completely halt traffic since Monday. The disruption in Rubí, which has persisted for days, prevents trains from Barcelona and southern Catalonia from reaching the rest of the continent, as well as preventing trains from arriving from France.

Newspapers, including Thursday's edition of ARA, and coins filled the urn used to lay the foundation stone for the future blue economy innovation complex at the Port of Barcelona. This marked the start of construction on the Blue Tech Port, which will be located in the former warehouses. –port warehouses– of the Sant Bertran dock, next to the Ronda Litoral ring road and just beyond the Trasmed boarding terminal.

Before it reaches your cup each morning, coffee goes through many stages, from planting in distant countries like Brazil or Vietnam to roasting in nearby factories and its sale on supermarket shelves. During this long process, a crucial stage takes place in the port of Barcelona, ​​where the terminal receives the raw coffee beans and prepares them for shipment to the roasters.

More sustainable port facilities. This is one of the objectives of the energy transition plan presented this Tuesday by the Port of Barcelona. This document, derived from the port's fourth strategic plan, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50% by 2030 compared to 2017 levels, "the equivalent of the annual emissions of 240,000 cars." Furthermore, it intends to reduce them by 85% by 2040 with the goal "of becoming a carbon-neutral port by 2050." Investments in infrastructure are projected at approximately €920 million from private funds and €780 million from public funds. The plan encompasses all the measures the Port of Barcelona is developing to "decarbonize port activity, guarantee the supply of sustainable energy, both environmentally and economically, and become a leading center for energy activities." In this document, the Port of Barcelona ceases to treat energy as a commodity, considering it "a strategic factor, key to strengthening the competitiveness of the port and the region in an increasingly demanding global market." Furthermore, it adds that this transformation "will consolidate the Port of Barcelona's leadership in both the maritime and port sector and the entire logistics chain, driving the energy transition far beyond the port area." This roadmap includes an action plan with more than 150 initiatives, grouped into four main areas: the decarbonization of port activity; the sustainability of energy consumption; resilience to guarantee energy supply; and innovation to facilitate the emergence of new business models and the adoption of emerging technologies. Electrification

It incorporates concrete measures to promote energy efficiency, aiming for 50% of port activity to be electrified by 2030 and for 65% of container ship and cruise ship gangways to be connected to Operational Power Systems (OPS), allowing them to shut down their engines while in port—a figure that will increase to 0%. Local energy production is also a focus, with the goal of having 100 megawatts (MWp) of photovoltaic energy installed by 2030 and exploring approaches that enable strategic management. Furthermore, the production of 100,000 tons of sustainable fuels annually is planned, including both biomethane and synthetic fuels. These fuels are a key element in the decarbonization of maritime transport, as the capacity to supply them allows for participation in maritime green corridors and attracts the most efficient and sustainable ships. "The energy transition plan shapes port planning for the coming years and will transform our energy model, generating new business areas. All actions taken and to be taken in the Port of Barcelona are designed and planned with the energy transition in mind. Sustainability already permeates the entire port business," stated the president of José.

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Promoting rail transport should not only reduce the number of passengers traveling by plane, but also take trucks off the roads for freight transport. This is one of the issues that the Port of Barcelona has been trying to address for years. the reactivation Rail and road access is one of the most significant milestones. But it's not just about the trains' entry point; it's also about how they will be managed once inside the infrastructure facilities.

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But it has taken some time, finally the Fish Market will have its own restaurant. The Aventura restaurant group will be in charge of this new project, with a menu created by chef Albert Ventura, behind other restaurants in the city such as Coure, Grill Room Bar Thonet, and Vraba. This decision was made by the board of directors of the Port of Barcelona, ​​which granted them a 20-year concession.

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Airports and ports are two infrastructures that are not usually as close as they are in Barcelona, ​​and even less so with the scale they have in the Catalan capital. This proximity has caused more than a few headaches for decades, but now it seems that a new era of understanding is beginning, with the main disagreements, such as the coexistence of container cranes with the aircraft flying above them, being ironed out.

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The import of cars, especially those from China, is driving freight traffic at the Port of Barcelona, ​​which closed the first 10 months of the year with a 4.6% increase compared to the same period in 2014. This data consolidates the growth that began in September. This trend is due to the sharp increase in imports, which have risen by 35.6%, largely driven by the boom in vehicle arrivals from the Asian giant. The Port Authority highlights the arrival of new ships in Barcelona. car-caller, "which significantly improve service capacity, along with a rebound in sales in the European vehicle market and the growing import of Chinese cars," are facilitating the recovery of this traffic.

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The increase in the tourist tax has sparked rejection from the sector. After hoteliers warned that the increase could endanger The holding of congresses like Mobile World Congress is now being handled by the cruise industry association. "This will pose a difficulty, especially for middle-income tourists," said Alfredo Serrano, director of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

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Major project at the Port of Barcelona. Plant-based protein is gaining popularity, and the industry is keeping pace. The American group Viserion will invest over €200 million to significantly increase production at its factory in the city, which focuses on soybeans, a high-protein legume used in products such as vegetarian burgers. To increase capacity, the plant will double its footprint on the Álvarez de la Campa dock. It will expand to 90,000 square meters, housing production lines and warehouses, as well as offices and laboratories. Construction is about to begin and is expected to continue until the end of 2027.

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The Chinese car boom, driven primarily by electrified models, is already having a direct impact on freight traffic at the Port of Barcelona. According to the infrastructure report this Wednesday, vehicle traffic increased by 3.5% between January and September. This increase is directly related to the rise in sales of Chinese cars in Europe. In fact, the bulk of this traffic recorded in the last nine months is imported, which has grown by 36%.

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