The mayor of Gandia, José Manuel Prieto and the general director of the Port Authority of Gandia (PAV), Francesc Sánchez have presented the project of remodelling the sheds of the Port of Gandia in Fitur
Camins a la mar’ will involve an investment of 6 million euros to improve and extend access for citizens and tourists to the port area
Francesc Sánchez: “This initiative is a clear example of port-city collaboration which shows that when all parties work hand in hand, success is assured”
José Manuel Prieto: “It will create a new opportunity for tourist attraction for visitors and the residents of Gandia as a space for leisure, culture and restaurants”
València, January 17th, 2023.- Port and city, united for Gandia. Yesterday afternoon at FITUR, the project for the remodelling of the Port of Gandia Sheds was presented, a proposal that the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the Gandia City Council have carried out hand in hand, which will provide this space with new uses for citizens and visitors. The mayor of the municipality of La Safor, José Manuel Prieto, and the general manager of the PAV, Francesc Sánchez, explained the ‘Camins a la Mar’ initiative which represents an example of city-port success. Also present at the event was the regional secretary for Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, Francesc Colomer.
The intervention will create a “unique urban facility” that will fill the Muelle Sur with life and cultural, social and leisure activities. Thus, the area behind the sheds will become a friendly and modern promenade of some 11,000 square metres in which vegetation and architecture will merge to create maximum comfort for pedestrians.
In terms of content, the sheds will be a meeting place for the public and a point of reference for visitors. They will house a unique indoor and outdoor space. They will also house restaurants, shops and cultural and leisure establishments. The current Clock Tower will be given special importance, with a promenade open to the public next to it that will connect the north and south areas of the old fruit dock.
In total, a total of 12,949.64 m2 are envisaged. Sheds 14 and 15 will be used as a Singular Space, while sheds 9, 10, 11 and 13 will be used for recreational and commercial purposes. Shed number 12 will be converted into a semi-covered promenade that will serve to connect the North and South areas.
The Mayor of Gandia stressed that with this project “we are going to improve one of the images that is one of the postcards that Gandia offers, perhaps the best known next to the extensive north beach, the sheds of the Port. An action that will mark a substantial change in the eyes of citizens and visitors”.
Prieto explained that “this is an investment of more than 6 million euros that Valenciaport will carry out in the coming months so that the architectural barriers between the Grau and the Port will disappear and a new opportunity for tourist attraction will be opened up for visitors and the residents of Gandia as a space for leisure, culture and restaurants”.
For Prieto, “the enhancement and revitalisation of the sheds of the Port will be added to the actions to regenerate the space and the surroundings of the church of San Nicolau and the renovation of the Gandia-Grau-beach connection, which have already begun, a first-rate element, revitalising our tourism, which is also the first thing tourists see when they arrive in our city. In this way we will manage to develop a city within a Port and to draw up a collective project which takes into account the Port’s view as a capital element in thinking about the city and its projection”.
An example of city-port collaboration
For his part, the Director General of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), Francesc Sánchez, indicated that this initiative is the fruit of “many years of joint work between the Port and the City Council to build the best city and promote its maritime façade for the citizens and the thousands of tourists who visit Gandia, a reference point for tourism, gastronomy and culture in La Safor and the Valencian Community. A port-city model that can be extrapolated to other port areas and which shows the spirit of collaboration with the best interests of Gandia and its residents in mind”.
Sánchez recalled that “the PAV is promoting city-port integration through different initiatives such as the creation of the advisory committee of the Port of Gandia, a body chaired by the mayor which has the objective of favouring the resolution of questions relating to the interrelation of the port areas with the respective urban areas. The example of this good harmony between the two can be seen in the presentation we have made today at Fitur”.
Valenciaport and the City Council have been collaborating for years in this port-city integration with examples such as the promenade on the Borgia quay, or the projects being carried out between the fruit sheds from 5 to 17, and the space located between its southern façade and the limit of the commercial port area. The other area in which work has been carried out includes the Llotja de pescadors building and square and the area around the church of Sant Nicolau.
“Ports are essential infrastructures for businesses, but also for people and society. When all parties work hand in hand, success is within our reach and guaranteed. And this project for Gandia is a clear example. We would like to congratulate all the people of Gandia and the residents of La Safor for their port, with more than 130 years of history, which continues to be an asset for the city and a driving force for the social and economic activity of the region”, said the general manager of the PAV.
Finally, Francesc Colomer praised Gandia’s capacity “not to surprise us every year with new and good tourist initiatives that help to build visitor loyalty” “Gandia has many resources that complement each other with coherence and continues to add projects to continue recovering spaces that would otherwise have been degraded and that in this way, can be used by all”.