New ferry passenger terminal for Palma

Palma is to have a new ferry passenger terminal at a cost of 5'000 million pesetas, the Balearic Port Authority announced yesterday. The construction of the new terminal at the Old Port of Palma in front of the Cathedral will in fact be the first phase of moving all passenger traffic to the new site and transferring merchant shipping to the Dique del Oeste. Yesterday Balearic Chief Minister Francesc Antich visited the proposed site for the new passenger terminal and he said that the construction will be one of the most important projects ever carried out by the Port Authority. President of the Port Authority, Francesc Triay, explained that the main reason for the re-ordination of the city's maritime traffic is to bring passengers closer to the city centre while moving merchant shipping and heavy goods' vehicles away from the city and using the existing space in the harbour to a maximum. Work on a 3'000 million peseta 72'000 square metre dock in the Dique del Oeste is already underway and the Port Authority wants to move merchant shipping to the new port by next Spring. Once the transfer has been completed, construction work will start on the new ferry terminal in the Old Port and is expected to be completed within a period of four years.