The necessity for this expansion became evident after the collapse caused by last winter's storms, which left nearly 3,000 trucks stranded at the Port of Algeciras. This incident highlighted the saturation of the docks and pre-boarding areas, also affecting nearby industrial and commercial estates.
The new strategic plan, recently approved by the APBA's board of directors, proposes an advanced intercontinental logistics platform. Its main objectives are to improve operational efficiency, optimize space usage, strengthen maritime and land connectivity, and deepen port-city and port-territory integration. The schedule of investments already planned for the 2024-2028 five-year period exceeds 500 million euros.
The strategy, which will be presented in sectoral meetings, emphasizes the need to enable locations outside the port domain for activities such as waiting areas, customs inspections, and temporary storage. This is crucial to meet the growing import and export traffic, as well as road traffic. In 2025, Algeciras channeled the passage of 527,086 trailers with goods, and forecasts point to 800,000 units before the end of the decade.
“"It is notable that the Port of Algeciras has no space. And the evidence from last winter's trucks supports this. Apart from all the infrastructures that the Campo de Gibraltar lacks, such as the train and road access, we also need spaces for the Port to grow. We agree that this strategic plan should include growth inland. It is logical, otherwise the Port would stagnate."
The strategic plan, named Strategic Plan 2030 with a 2040 Vision, is structured around 14 strategic objectives and 58 measures. It seeks to position the Port of Algeciras as a benchmark in innovation, sustainability, and connectivity, capable of attracting value-added activity, promoting energy transition, and consolidating its leadership.
The initiative is supported by the private sector, which sees this decentralization as an opportunity to compete with ports like Tangier-Med. Examples of this trend are the projects by Maersk Line and Calsina Carré in San Roque. Maersk plans a logistics facility for 2026, while Calsina Carré will invest 6 million euros in an operations and services center for transporters, including a secure parking area and a service station.
Furthermore, the APBA has already launched the project for a rail-port technical facility in Botafuegos, the first significant port infrastructure outside the port. This project, co-financed by the European Union, aims to overcome the limitations of the current railway infrastructure and improve the capacity for receiving and sending goods by train.
