The Copa América will generate 2,000 jobs

Little by little, more details are becoming known about the America's Cup, the historic competition that will be held for the first time in Barcelona waters next summer. Activities will be concentrated in Port Vell and the regatta organizers are working hand in hand with the Port de Barcelona to prepare the ground.

With an eye on the imminent start of works to build the bases for the six participating teams, the president of the Port de Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó, has revealed new data on the expected impact of the America's Cup on the city. He did so at the conference Port de Barcelona: liderant el canvi al món portuari, held this Thursday at the Palau Robert.

According to Salvadó, the competition will generate some 2,000 direct jobs. With an estimated economic impact of 1,000 million euros, it is one of the most relevant sporting events in the world, on par with the Olympics and football World Cups.

The president of the Port de Barcelona took the opportunity to argue that the event should serve to further open Port Vell to the city, as the '92 Olympic Games did in their time. "The America's Cup will generate a significant impact on the city's positioning and will be a boost to improve Port Vell," he remarked.

During the conference, Salvadó also addressed last year's record results, with novelties such as an increasing prominence of American and Asian electric car manufacturers that are betting on the Port de Barcelona as a distribution hub. "We are no longer just the export port for Seat vehicles. Now we are also for electric vehicles and there will be an increasingly greater pulling effect," he stated. According to him, they currently work with about twenty electric car brands and expect this number to grow this year.

Likewise, the president of the Port Authority of Barcelona (APB) reviewed the main axes of the strategic plan that the institution is following. Among them, the decarbonization of its activity through the electrification of its facilities and the increase in rail transport, as well as the transfer of containers and cruises to the docks furthest from the urban fabric.