Expansion of Valencia port to the north approved by the Council of Ministers According to the report submitted to the Efe agency by the neighborhood and environmental associations that make up the City-Port Commission, it endangers the beaches and Albufera in the south of the city and will create an external cost of 6 billion euros to society.
The project, which was unblocked by the central government this Tuesday after several years of debate about its environmental impacts, has reached a new stage of green light by the State. It is demanded by the business sector in general, the port and maritime sector in particular, and by all political parties except the Compromís.
Impact on southern coasts
Josep Gavaldá, member of Per l’Horta, one of the commission associations, assures: Impacts on southern coast ‘brutal’ and “We already saw this when they spent $30 million on the renovation of El Saler beach. “The initial northward expansion had effects, but now they are more intense,” he adds.
In the same sense, Ecologists Action Spokesperson Pau Monasterio assures: renewals are temporary actionsHe emphasizes that, in terms of sand loss on beaches, “the barrier action to transport sediments resulting from the successive expansion of the port is fundamental.”
“Nature’s only solution to reduce or mitigate the impact of these barriers is simply to roll back the final expansion of the northern embankment that forms the wall. “This is the most effective way to protect our beaches, economically and ecologically,” he says.
Julio Moltó, president of the Nazaret Neighborhood Association, who is also a member of the Commission, said that the neighborhood already has “a a long history of how the harbor affects the beachesBecause they had already lost the sandy area with the expansion of the port in 1986.
“There is a current in this part of the Mediterranean and All obstacles in our way, such as harbor moats, keep the sand in the north and disappear in the south.“, To explain.
“The coast thrived when it connected to the southern water channel of Turia, but disappeared when it left that refuge. “This is happening now almost from the mouth of the new channel to Cullera,” he emphasizes. And warns: “Any expansion by the port would have a very negative impact on the southern coast.”
La Albufera is in danger
“La Albufera is in danger of salinization, which will lead to the end of animal life and rice crops. It is impossible to mitigate the effects,” warns Gavaldá.
In addition to the problems they have been experiencing for 40 years, Moltó said, “Since the destruction of the Nazareth coast, there is an alarming innovation: climate change. Storms are getting stronger and sea water is warmingand this has a direct impact on the southern coast and even Albufera.”
“There is a risk of salt water leaking into Albufera”. “If the solid infrastructure of the port contributes to this, the southern beaches and the nature park will be at risk,” he adds.
Monasterio explains that Albufera is a freshwater system, and “absolutely, What makes it sweet is the sand barrier that separates it from the sea, Devesa. Beaches are Albufera’s first line of defense. “If that sand barrier gets narrower and narrower, it will cease to function even if it fills temporarily.”
“Seawater is increasingly coming into contact with Albufera water underground and The most sensitive areas are salted. “We have been detecting this salinization process for years,” he says. This situation affects the entire ecosystem consisting of plants, animals, fisheries and agriculture.
According to the Ecologistas en Acción spokesperson, these problems are accelerated by fresh water scarcity and port expansions, along with the problems arising from the climate crisis. “The perfect cocktail” for Albufera not to be what it is known for.
According to that, Expanding the port is like “throwing gasoline on the fire” i.e. “at the door of the house”.
6 billion external costs
Gavaldá explains that the expansion is planned to increase the number of containers in the port from 5 million to 12.5 million, which will increase the number of ships and trucks by the same amount (today there are 5,000 trucks per day).
“Transportation – guarantees – impacts that society pays for, external costs”. He regrets that “the current economy does not take this impact into account” and details that a “cautious” and “conservative” estimate of what this will be has been made, according to a 2019 EU report that was the first to measure the cost of public money. requires expansion of the port.
“The expansion of the port due to the flow of goods to the port in 35 years will cost 6 billion euros in 2019. This is barbarism. “This means giving public money to a private company, which benefits, while we only get negative results,” he criticizes.