The BEST terminal gains 25% capacity with a 150 million investment

The Port of Barcelona continues to grow to position itself among the main ports not only at a European level, but globally. The BEST terminal has increased its operational capacity by 25%, with an expansion that has added seven semi-automated distribution blocks, reaching a total of 34.

With the expansion, which has required an investment of 150 million euros, the terminal will have a thousand more connection points for refrigerated containers, reaching 3,000. The operation comes at a time of changes in the terminal's shareholding, in which the shipping giant MSC will take 50%, now held by Terminal Catalunya SAU (Tercat), while the operation and management of the terminal will continue to fall mainly on the multinational Hutchison Ports.

Through this terminal expansion, Hutchison Ports reaffirms its commitment to Barcelona, and opens "a new chapter" of commitment to "a sustainable future," defended the head of the multinational's European division, Clemence Cheng, at an event also attended by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; Minister Óscar Puente; Minister Sílvia Paneque; Deputy Mayor Jordi Valls, and the President of the Port, José Alberto Carbonell.

The terminal, which employs 1,100 stevedores, is consolidating itself as "the most efficient in operational terms in the Mediterranean," according to Carbonell, who believes it positions the city "on the global maritime map." And it has done so by innovating: "We have gone from being a manual and mechanical terminal to an automated and electronic one, leaving no one behind," defended the CEO of BEST, Guillermo Belcastro.

Thus, the terminal, which last year moved 2.7 million containers, is key not only as infrastructure, but also because it represents a "connection of Spain with the world," according to the deputy mayor, also former president of the Port. The expansion materialized just one year after the terminal achieved another milestone: connecting to the electrical grid through the first Onshore Power Supply (OPS) system, making it the first in the Mediterranean where vessels can plug into the grid and completely turn off their engines when docked.

The terminal's growth doesn't stop here: two new high-rise cranes will arrive at the dock in 2026. The cranes, now under manufacturing, will be compatible with the expansion of El Prat Airport, following negotiations between the terminal's management, the port authority, and Aena, as explained at the event by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente.

This expansion of El Prat has not gone unnoticed. Alba Bou, mayor of El Prat de Llobregat —where BEST is also located—, has asked for the terminal's growth example to be followed for the rest of the infrastructures, in allusion to the airport, a project her City Council rejects. The President of the Generalitat has taken up the gauntlet: "We will ensure that the same standards applied here are applied to airport, road, or rail infrastructures," Illa guaranteed.