Mayors of Errenteria, Lezo and Pasaia call for the transfer of port powers and a new model of governance

The mayors of Errenteria, Lezo and Pasaia have advocated the transfer to the Basque Country of the competences of the port of the latter town, as well as the implementation ofthe document Bay of the Future , presented in 2023, because they believe that their proposals are necessary to guarantee the "social, economic and environmental future" of the environment.

The three rulers of EH Bildu , Aizpea Otaegi (Errenteria), Mikel Arruti (Lezo) and Teo Alberro (Pasaia), have called in a meeting with the press for "modernization of the port, a new model of governance and public investments that put the quality of life of the citizens at the centre".

They point out that the Bay ofPasaia "cannot continue to operate with nineteenth-century logic" and consider it "urgent" to adapt the port city model to the challenges of the twenty-first century. To this end, they are committed to "reconciling the modernization of the port withthe quality of life, decarbonization and economic competitiveness of the citizens ".

Arruti has once again raised the "need to separate heavy traffic from urban centres" and reiterated its commitment to connecting the industrial parks of Lezo and Oiartzun directly to high-capacity roads, as well as developing a new port access, with the expectation that 90% of port goods will continue to move through trucks.

"Port traffic cannot continue to be organized behind thebacks of the citizens; the solutions that the bay needs must be forward-looking, not recipesfrom the past, "Arruti said.

The mayor of Errenteria, for his part, has considered it essential to change the model of governance between the port and neighbouring localities, sincetheir interests "are not at odds".

"We have been with port workers and operators and many of the measures they put forward are in line with what the citizens are asking for and the ports are going against what was put forward in their strategic plan," he said.

Furthermore, the authorities have stressed that the transfer of port powers is' essential in order to speed up the necessary public investments' and have called on the Basque Government to set up the Berpiztu fund created to revive the economy and employment, considering that the bay 'still needs major transformations'.

They stress that the port of Pasaia "plays a strategic role in the Basque economy" and call for port areas to be "available to companies that promote innovative activities and new jobs".