The Algeciras Port Authority approved its latest business plan with investments for €677 million between 2026 and 2030. Of these, €124 million are earmarked for inland connectivity including measures for the launch of the rail highway service to Zaragoza.
The main rail project financed by this scheme will be the terminal in Botafuegos and the 3.65-km line that will link it to the port. The facility would be located outside the main port area, as there is no room to expand internally, and would be used to prepare the rail highway trains. A study from earlier this year estimated the cost for the Botafuegos site at €62 million.
No end means no beginning
Despite the large investments, rail freight to and from Spain’s largest port is at a standstill. The line to the port has been closed for months due to damages caused by storms earlier this year. On top of that, works have now started to adapt the Algeciras-Madrid section which will keep it closed until Autumn 2027.
All these actions are to prepare for the launch of the Algeciras-Zaragoza rail highway service. Trains were supposed to start transporting semi-trailers already at the end of 2024, but this was then postponed to the end of 2026 and now again for another year, with rail volumes dropping. Until the preparatory works are completed, rail operators will have to keep waiting.
The rest of the money
Part of what is left of the €677 million will go to implementing an Onshore Power Supply at the docks of Algeciras and Tarifa. Other investments will concern the expansion of the Galera Dock, mostly used for Ro-Ro and passenger traffic to North Africa. By the end of this investment plan, in 2030, the port of Algeciras aims at exceeding six million containers and 125 million tonnes of cargo per year.