The president of the Port Authority of Valencia, Joan Calabuig, pointed out that “this is an opportunity for Valenciaport and the business network of Burgos to work quickly and efficiently to turn this project into a reality”
Calabuig highlighted the importance of the Port of Valencia for companies in Burgos due to “its efficiency in loading and unloading operations and its connection with ports in all the countries of the world”
The conference ‘Valenciaport. Business opportunities and synergies’, organised by the Confederation of Business Associations of Burgos (FAE) and the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV)
The services and strategies focused on the client by the railway and port terminal operators offered by the first container port in Spain and the Mediterranean have been explained
València, April 25th, 2023.- Valenciaport and Burgos are already working on the study of a direct rail connection linking the main container port of Spain and the Mediterranean with the import/export companies of the province of Burgos. Today, the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the productive sectors and institutions of Burgos have started the commitment to make this connection possible, which will benefit the competitive capacity of the province and the business network of Castilla y León.
A project that the president of the APV, Joan Calabuig, endorsed this morning during the conference ‘Valenciaport. Business opportunities and synergies’ held in the capital of Burgos. “From today we start working on this connection between Valenciaport and Burgos. We are going to open this priority path where we are going to work with all the institutions and agents involved to make all the possibilities more concrete. We are in favour of not missing opportunities. This is an opportunity for the PAV and for the business fabric of Burgos to work quickly and efficiently to turn this project into a reality”, said the head of the Port of Valencia.
The aim of this conference,” continued Calabuig, “is to find out the needs and requirements of the companies in Burgos and the administrations, and to see how we can respond to make this project viable. We must focus on advancing in this railway connection between two very important logistic poles, key for the economy of Burgos and for the creation of employment and wealth”.
Calabuig opened today this event organised by the PAV and the Confederation of Business Associations of Burgos (FAE) with some words in which he offered the professionalism of the port community of Valencia, the connectivity of the port and its projects and commitments in decarbonisation, as the best guarantees for the international success of companies from Burgos. The Mayor of Burgos, Daniel de la Rosa, the sub-delegate of the Government in Burgos, Pedro Luis de la Fuente and the territorial delegate of the Junta de Castilla y León in Burgos, Roberto Saiz, were present at the event.
In this regard, the head of Valenciaport explained the importance of the Valencian precinct for the province of Burgos. “The Port of Valencia is highly efficient for loading and unloading containers, capable of operating with large ships of 25,000 containers. Moreover, we are one of the best connected ports in the world, with connections to the main trade routes such as the Far East with countries like China, the American continent with the US market, or the Mediterranean with regular lines to countries as important as Italy. But we also have the capacity to reach very remote markets on the five continents”, Calabuig explained. “Our services and infrastructures are an enormous attraction for companies from Burgos to work with the Valencian site where 40% of the export/import activity by sea in Spain takes place”.
A great opportunity for companies in this area and the surrounding area
During his speech, the president of the PAV reaffirmed Valenciaport’s commitment to intermodality with the railway, hence the importance of supporting all initiatives of this type, such as the direct train connection between the province of Burgos and the Valencian precinct. “The railway is a key element for sustainability and efficiency, and this connection is essential for the port and the business sector in Burgos. The PAV has already been involved in this type of operations such as the Sagunto-Teruel-Zaragoza railway line. Now we have to cooperate between all the institutions involved to make this project a reality”, said Calabuig.
In the same direction, the general director of the PAV, Francesc Sánchez, indicated that “from today we start the work of a study, as it was done at the time for the Sagunto-Teruel-Zaragoza line, on the opportunity and economic viability of rail connectivity between Burgos and Valenciaport. We are going to work in coordination with businessmen and institutions to achieve alliances and partners to make this railway line between Burgos and Valencia Port possible”.
In this sense, Ignacio San Millán, president of the Burgos Logistics Association, explained with regard to the reopening of the Madrid-Aranda-Burgos train line to freight traffic that “we want to cut costs for companies in Burgos, and with the help of the Port of Valencia, and the alliance with other sites and agents, achieve the objective of opening the central corridor through Roblegordo so that our companies save costs and are more competitive in international trade”.
Reinforcing commercial action
This initiative is part of Valenciaport’s action to reinforce commercial action in reference enclaves in its hinterland, such as Burgos and the region of Castilla y León. At the conference ‘Valenciaport. Business opportunities and synergies’, in which import/export companies from the province of Burgos took part, the characteristics of the Valencian logistics hub were also discussed by Mar Chao López, Commercial Director of Valenciaport; Ignacio Ballester, General Manager of MSC Spain; José Boix Valencia, Branch Deputy Manager of Cosco Shipping Lines Spain; and Pedro Catalán, General Manager of CSP Logitren. This round table was used to present the services provided by railway companies and port terminals to companies in Burgos.
This was followed by the round table “Needs and expectations of the companies from Burgos for the service provided by the Port of Valencia”, which allowed us to listen to the requests that the exporting companies are making of the Port of Valencia. This space was moderated by Jaime González, Director of Business Development in the Southern EU Region, Ewals Cargo Care, and was attended by representatives of the companies Asercomex Logistics, S.L. Bridgestone Hispania S.A. and L’Oréal España.
The conclusion of these round tables was the growing importance of the decarbonisation of logistics activity by land and sea; the willingness of Burgos companies to work through the Port of Valencia; and the commitment of Valenciaport to improve in all aspects that allow win to win (mutual benefit) between the export sector of Burgos and the Valencian precinct.