New Fonsalía port will replace Los Cristianos as main ferry port within decade

[Janet]

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The Tenerife Cabildo has announced that the preliminary procedures for the west coast port are starting. The new port, in Fonsalía on the Guía de Isora coast around midway between Los Cristianos and Los Gigantes, is planned as a vital point of communications and logistics for the four western islands which form the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the initial planning procedures now underway to designate the site as a port and service zone are a prerequisite for the Canarian Government to put the works out to tender.  The new port will be a floating platform in the form of an "island" of 15.5 hectares to house basic commercial, sports and fishing services, with the platform connected to the coast by a 220 metre bridge with four traffic lanes and pavements to the sides.

The port is considered fundamental for both Tenerife and the Canaries generally, with Los Cristianos harbour inadequate for today's sea traffic. Cabildo councillor Miguel Ángel Pérez, who met last week with Guía de Isora mayor Pedro Martín, stressed that Fonsalía would complete the network of main Tenerife ports and thereby improve docks logistics as well as passenger connectivity with the western islands, and of course would have particular positive economic significance for the towns of  Playa San Juan and Alcalá either side.

There will be space for five ferries connecting Tenerife and La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, as well as 470 other craft, thus accommodating touristic, sports and fishing vessels. With the port clearly now actually starting to happen, Mayor Martín has the bit between his teeth and is set on getting a fourth lane in the TF1 spur road to Fonsalía, as well as widening the TF47 from Armeñime to Alcalá.

[Perikles]

How the hell are they going to float that lot? Collect up the trillions of empty 8-litre water bottles?

[Janet]

Canarian TV has broadcast a piece including an interview with Guía de Isora mayor Pedro Martín on the forthcoming port at Fonsalía. The piece, in the video below (only in Spanish, I'm afraid), explains how the port will replace Los Cristianos within the next decade as the main centre for connectivity with the other western islands. As such, it is described as one of the most important upcoming projects for Tenerife as a whole. Mayor Martín himself explains in the video that it has been a chance to correct previous errors in port design to take full care of the environmental requirements of the Isoran litoral. Fonsalía will accommodate five ferries to connect with La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, as well as nearly 500 touristic, sports and fishing vessels.

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A decade you say?     

Coming back from the motor racing circuit, on the train ride through the Mt Guaza tunnel I'll call over and have look at it...