canary islands fonsalia port tenerife revived

Canary Islands government revives controversial Fonsalía port plan

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Canary Islands government revives controversial Fonsalía port plan

The Canary Islands government has once again put the construction of the controversial Fonsalía port, on the southwest coast of Tenerife, back on the table. This major dock was halted in 2021 thanks to social and environmental mobilisation over its significant impact on the environment and, in particular, on the Teno-Rasca Special Area of Conservation (ZEC). Even so, the executive led by Coalición Canaria together with the Partido Popular has included the project in the draft Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy for the Canary Islands, which has been in a public consultation phase since last Thursday.

What the draft strategy proposes

Measure 21-2, contained in the 518-page document from the Department of Public Works, proposes improving the maritime connection between the green islands (La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma) and Tenerife through the “new Fonsalía port”, which envisages the construction of a new passenger and freight port at this location in the municipality of Guía de Isora.

The draft (first reported by Cadena Ser) argues that this site offers “favourable” natural shelter conditions and is located at a geographical point “significantly closer” to the western islands than the current Los Cristianos dock (Arona). This, it adds, “makes it possible to reduce crossing times and improve navigability conditions in situations of adverse wind and swell”.

Environmental assessment requirements

The construction of the new port, the government states, requires an ordinary environmental impact assessment procedure, in accordance with the Land and Protected Natural Areas Act of the Canary Islands. “The study must analyse the effects on the public maritime-terrestrial domain, the protected marine habitats and species in the surrounding area (including cetaceans and turtles), the coastal landscape and the fishing resources of the area,” the document reads.

According to the draft, the viability of this project depends on the preparation of a specific Port Master Plan for Fonsalía and its inclusion in the Strategic Plan for Canary Islands Ports 2028-2031, as well as its coordination with the island’s territorial planning for Tenerife. The text even offers an estimate of how long it would take to build Fonsalía, pointing to a minimum of 10 to 15 years from the start of preliminary studies.

Why the project was halted in 2021

It was precisely the significant environmental impact of the Fonsalía dock that halted the construction of this major port in 2021. The process had begun 25 years earlier and the aim was to build, with an initial investment of 200 million euros of public money, a platform with five berthing lines for large vessels, a fishing dock, 200 dry dock spaces and 467 berths in the marina area. In total, the infrastructure would occupy more than 222,000 square metres.

This stretch of coastline, besides being one of the most tourist-oriented in Tenerife, forms part of the Teno-Rasca Special Area of Conservation (ZEC). It is home to around 600 examples of cetaceans, loggerhead turtles, dolphins and sperm whales. All these species have been exposed to continuous maritime traffic from large ferries and a situation of ongoing stress.

The environmental movement launched a campaign against Fonsalía that managed to collect more than 400,000 signatures. In October 2021, the Parliament of the Canary Islands agreed to definitively abandon the construction of the major port, with the favourable votes of Coalición Canaria, Nueva Canarias and Sí Podemos. By contrast, the PSOE, the PP and Agrupación Socialista Gomera (ASG) did not state their position explicitly.

Links to the south Tenerife railway project

The draft sustainable mobility strategy from the Canary Islands government also mentions the Fonsalía port in the section dedicated to the south Tenerife railway. The document notes that the rail project envisages a possible extension of the corridor towards the Fonsalía port, by means of a prolongation from the Costa Adeje station towards Guía de Isora. The aim is, according to the text, to “strengthen inter-island connectivity with the western islands and extend the territorial reach of the island’s rail system”.

It adds that it is essential to implement a series of optimisation measures at the Los Cristianos dock to “guarantee the operability of the maritime connection system with the western islands” during the “long processing and construction period” of Fonsalía.

Measures to ease congestion at Los Cristianos

Since the construction of the Fonsalía port could take more than a decade, the draft insists on the need to decongest the Los Cristianos dock while the work is carried out. According to the text, the high volume of passengers absorbed by this port creates a critical bottleneck that leads to congestion problems, operational inefficiencies and difficulties in managing access, “affecting both journey times and the reliability of the service”.

It therefore proposes establishing an access regulation system for non-resident vehicles and for loading and unloading vehicles, so that only a restricted number of visitor cars and vehicles intended for essential services can access the island. It also considers the implementation of shuttle buses, the creation of specific access lanes to the port from the southern motorway (TF-1), reorganising the road network into the town and implementing intelligent traffic management systems.

Political divisions over the project

The president of the La Gomera Cabildo, Casimiro Curbelo (ASG), has never stopped insisting in recent years on the construction of the Fonsalía port. According to the ASG leader, a partner of the Canary Islands government, this is the only solution to the “collapse” of the Los Cristianos dock, which he claims is harming the connectivity of El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera. In June he again demanded in a statement that it be explained “why the Fonsalía port option was discarded and why real alternatives have not been developed”.

For her part, the president of the Tenerife Cabildo, Rosa Dávila (CC), has on several occasions come out against building the dock despite Curbelo’s insistence.

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