07/04/2013 00:00
TW
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Joan Collins VARIOUS port projects in the Balearics are awaiting the green light after the approval of the Ports Law and the lifting of the freeze on the construction of new yacht clubs. Among the projects in the planning stages: on Majorca, the extension of Port Adriano, the extension of the small port in Palmanova, the Club Nautico at Molinar and the Club Nautico in Arenal; on Minorca, a new marina in Busquets in Ciutadella; and on Ibiza, two new marinas, in Punta Xinxo in Sant Josep (although nearer to Sant Antoni) and in Viver. There is no official proof of negotiations but it is known that there are plans for new ports or extensions in: Portopetro, Portocolom, Cala Bona, Cala Rajada, Son Serra, Can Picafort, Sant Elm, Moll Vell in Palma and the Port of Soller, Fornells, two in the port of Mao and it appears that the extension project for the bay in Bosch, in Cuitadella on Minorca, could be revived; and the coastal green belt in Ses Variades in Sant Antoni (Ibiza).


Some of these projects are so big in fact they will mean the construction of almost a new port with far greater dimensions and facilities.
This is the case with Port Adriano in Calvia. The port is seeking an increase of 85 moorings from the 404 it currently has, but the space the new part will occupy will effectively double its current size because the new moorings proposed are for big motor boats and luxury yachts.
In El Molinar the project proposed will double its current size and the enlargement of the Club Nautico in Arenal would be the third in a short time.
The construction of moorings for tourist boats in Moll Vell in Palma and the Port of Soller is also being planned along with the construction of a new promenade.
In Sant Elm the proposed marina, in front of the Natural Park of Sa Dragonera, would be a new construction not an extension.
In Ibiza, for the new marina in Viver three different projects have been presented: one for 545 moorings; another for some 800 moorings; and a third, linked to the Matutes group, for 855.
The Council of Ibiza and Formentera has to choose one of them.
In Minorca, the new marina in the bay in Busquets was linked to the remodelling of the port of Ciutadella and the construction of a new dock. It was expected that the dock would be constructed of rock dug out of the cliff to open the bay in Busquets for a marina, but the national Ministry for the Environment rejected the plan for a breakwater. So the marina project was suspended but the Balearic Government wants to go ahead with it and has even said that if the project in Busquets is suspended indefinitely, they will revive the project to enlarge the bay port in Bosch, which in principle had been ruled out of the Territorial Plan for Minorca.

Also in Minorca it is planned to take adavantage of the port reforms in Fornells to construct between 250 and 300 new moorings. There are at least three projects in progress, one public and two private.

In the port of Mao, the creation of new moorings for the nautical leisure sector takes second place to the Port Authority's initiative. On the north bank 200 new moorings could be created. And in the same port it is planned to transfer fuel carrying ships to the naval base for unloading so that there will be room for another 350 or 400 moorings in Cala Figuera.

All these proposed projects have alarmed the conservationists, who have launched criticisms. GOB said that “if these projects go ahead there will be very bad repercussions on the environment”. According to the ecologists, the projects would mean the construction of 4'000 moorings in Majorca alone.