Enrique Verda, general director of the Port Authority of Valencia (APV), announced his voluntary resignation at the board meeting after two years in office and a flurry of resignations from the organization’s other directors. He will be succeeded by Aurelio Acedo. According to Mr. Chao’s report, the APV board chaired by Mr. Ma Chao held a meeting this Wednesday and announced his decision to resign at his own request to return to the Ministry of Interior.
Mr. Enrique Belda Espulguez will succeed Mr. Francesc Sánchez on December 31, 2023. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and is a career civil servant, having served as Deputy Director-General for Security Information and Communication Systems at the Ministry of the Interior before joining the Directorate General.
After his resignation, Belda will return to the Interior Ministry where he was recruited by the APV, but Chao said this personal decision should be respected “with perfect cooperation and perfect harmony” and that he has nothing to point out.
Mr. Aurelio Acedo, a doctor and civil engineer with various master’s degrees and a long career with PAV and the Melilla Port Authority, was appointed to the position of General Director, replacing Mr. Belda.
The Board of Directors agreed to authorize Toyota Logistics Services Spain to operate a terminal at the southern dock of the Port of Sagunto for the embarkation, disembarkation, deposit and storage, ordering, management, storage and transfer of new vehicles under the Lexus and Toyota brands.
It was also agreed to cancel the concession granted in 2022 to Puerto Natura Valencia, a subsidiary of Balearia, for the operation of the passenger terminal, in order to reconsider the layout of the wharves planned for this project due to changes in traffic, the maneuverability needs of new ships and the connectivity of the Port of Valencia with other ports.
As PAV reported in a statement, in order to provide the best service to customers, it is necessary to rethink the entire area dedicated to passenger transport and implement quay improvements, always taking into account the correct integration of the port city and the city.
PAV’s president said that he would like to put all projects necessary for the maintenance of ships that have received duty reports from Costas out to tender, with the aim of putting them out to tender in the first quarter of 2026 while maintaining operations.
These are spaces located at Turia Dock and Union Naval Delevante from the South Dock to TransMed, including the Borda Shipyard area, to better serve passengers and feature larger service areas for passenger and cruise traffic.
He said he wants to focus on the “best possible design” for all docks, and declined to say whether the models would be public terminals (“it’s not clear,” he said). He also noted that this is a “technical puzzle” involving the environment, naval forces and warehouses.
Another aspect discussed was the agreement that allows the Valencian Fiscal and Border Agency and the Valencian Regional Maritime Directorate to allocate specific space for the prevention and prosecution of smuggling, the security of border and port facilities, the management of customs facilities, national security, illegal migration, protection of nature and the environment, fisheries management and inspection, etc.
For this purpose, a 2,335 m2 building in the Port of Valencia, 802 m of space near the Civil Guard Maritime Directorate Nautical Club, another 198 m building in Gandia and a 330 m warehouse in Sagunto will be transferred.
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