Port of Bilbao: innovating to reconnect with citizens

Interview with Mr. Ricardo Barkala Zumelzu – President of the Bilbao Port Authority The Port of Bilbao is the largest port on the Atlantic coast of Spain and one of the principal ports of the country, with a cargo flow of almost 36 million tons in 2018. At the same time, the metropolitan area of the city of Bilbao has a population of over one million inhabitants. In recent decades, the urban waterfront has undergone major modifications, known all over the world for its most symbolic construction, the Guggenheim Museum. However, city-planning is much more complex than the famous cultural installation; plans have had to be developed for the Abandoibarra zone, and more recently for Zorrotzaurre. The port has played a fundamental role in this transformation process, releasing land and relocating some of its operations along the waterfront. The new configuration of the port implies new challenges, like maintaining contact with the citizens now that they do not have as direct a connection with port activities as they used to. In this interview we asked the president of the Bilbao Port Authority about the measures that are being introduced to improve the integration of the port with society. One of these is a new Port Centre, which will host the 6th Citizen Port Meeting of the AIVP Port Centres network. The Autoridad Portuaria de Bilbao is an AIVP member since 1989 ! et la Ayuntamiento de Bilbao depuis 2005 AIVP – The Port of Bilbao has evolved in recent decades, abandoning its central position in the heart of the city and expanding into the area called El Abra Exterior. Considering this new configuration, how would you describe the Port City relationship in Bilbao today? How is the port's relationship with neighbouring districts like Santurtzi, Getxo or Portugalete coordinated? Ricardo Barkala Zumelzu, President of the Bilbao Port Authority – You are right, the Port of Bilbao is no longer in the city centre; this is good for the city, but not so good for people's perceptions about the port. We want our citizens to know the port. We want to be a near neighbour that people value as a driver of the city's economy. Among the things we are doing to foster this feeling, we are maintaining close relations with the nine riverside municipalities, where we still occupy land, and especially with those where the majority of our activities take place, like Santurtzi and Zierbena, for ferry passengers and cargo, and Getxo, where our cruise ship terminals are. Of course without forgetting Bilbao, the city where it all began, the city which takes its name from the port, and the city to whose regeneration we have contributed extensively through the company Bilbao Ría 2000, and now through the Zorrotzaurre Management Commission. We maintain close relations because we…