Port of Valencia

The Port of Valencia is a seaport in Valencia, Spain. In 2021 it was the second busiest port in the Mediterranean by TEU after the port of Tanger Med. It handles a lot of cargo, moving about seventy-seven million tonnes each year.

The port is also a big place for jobs, giving work to more than 15,000 people. Every year, it helps more than 7,500 ships with their needs.

History

The Port of Valencia started in 1483 when King Ferdinand the Catholic allowed Antoni Joan to build a wooden bridge on the beach in the Grao district, named the Pont de Fusta.

From then until the 1800s, many building projects were added to the port. But because the Turia River often flooded and sand kept moving on the beach, the port didn’t grow very fast. Still, trade slowly increased, and the king gave special trading rights with other kingdoms and sovereign states in 1679, and with the Americas in 1791. By then, Valencia had become the sixth maritime province in Spain.

In December 2023, plans were approved to expand the northern part of the port. This will include building a new terminal that can handle up to 5 million TEU, with public and private investments totaling over 1.7 billion euros. The port’s operator, MSC, will also invest a large amount of money in this project.

Description

The three ports managed by the Port Authority of Valencia are in Valencia, Sagunto, and Gandía. They sit along the Mediterranean Sea on an 80 km stretch of Spain’s eastern coast.

The Port of Valencia is a key economic hub for a region within a 350 km radius. It features a quay that is 12 km long and has a total storage area of 300 acres (1.2 km²).

The Valencia Port Authority plans to build a new container terminal in the northern expansion area by the year 2030.

Satellite ports

Port of Sagunt

The Port of Sagunt handles about 10% of the traffic of the main port. It mainly ships liquefied natural gas, with three million tonnes moving each year thanks to a nearby regasification plant. Most of its other cargo is iron and steel products, with smaller amounts of fertilizers, construction materials, timber, and perishable products.

Port of Gandia

The Port of Gandia handles about 1.5% of the main port's traffic. It focuses on moving forestry products such as timber, reels, pulp, paper, and furniture for export and import.

Statistics

In 2023, the Port of Valencia handled 77 million tonnes of cargo and almost 5 million TEU. This made it the second busiest cargo port in Spain and the largest container port in the country.