The development of the industrial and energy sector in the archipelago’s port areas has set a new administrative precedent. The Directorate-General for Environmental Quality of the Government of the Canary Islands has issued a favorable Environmental Impact Report—under the simplified assessment procedure—for the Basic Project for the Expansion of the Liquid Bulk Terminal (asphalt binders and emulsions) at Arinaga Port, promoted by Asfaltos de Arinaga, S.A.
The resolution authorizes the modernization and expansion of the facility dedicated to handling heavy hydrocarbons and petroleum derivatives, exempting the initiative from undergoing a standard environmental impact assessment. The decision, however, was approved subject to precautionary conditions imposed by health and marine environmental authorities, which have focused on the terminal’s proximity to urban areas and protected natural spaces within the Natura 2000 Network.
Established in August 2006 with share capital of €1,254,381, Asfaltos de Arinaga, S.A. operates the terminal in Functional Area 18 of Arinaga Port under a public-domain concession granted by the Las Palmas Port Authority. The company, chaired by Timothy John Child and governed by a board with international links including Astoncraft Limited, Invicta Energy Limited and Gomera Petroleos Representacoes e Consultoria, is seeking to increase the operational capacity of its facilities.
Thermal energy
The plans include the installation of a mobile modified-bitumen plant with a capacity of 20 tonnes per hour, a drum-loading facility, a high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES) system on a rock bed, a 35 kW photovoltaic plant and the extension of its transfer lines to the quay’s second alignment. The case file accumulated significant technical warnings, notably one issued by the Environmental Health Service of the Directorate-General of Public Health.
The health authority stressed that the facility emits particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds, identifying vulnerable populations at a short distance: Arinaga Beach, 800 meters away; Cuartería El Uno, 1,700 meters away; and Pozo Izquierdo, 2,760 meters away. Public Health warned that the area’s prevailing winds push pollutants toward inhabited areas in the southeast and recalled that international guidelines recommend a minimum separation distance of 1,000 meters from asphalt plants. It therefore called for periodic air-quality monitoring campaigns.
A zoo?
Meanwhile, the port’s proximity to the Playa del Cabrón Special Area of Conservation (SAC) prompted the involvement of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO). The Directorate-General for Biodiversity determined that the works and the expected increase in vessel traffic would not significantly affect protected species such as the loggerhead turtle, bottlenose dolphin or angelshark—listed as endangered—provided that the developer guarantees zero discharge into the sea, applies speed controls to maritime traffic and establishes a protocol to halt noisy works for at least 30 minutes if cetaceans or turtles are sighted in the water.
With this administrative decision, Asfaltos de Arinaga, S.A. has received the green light to carry out the expansion of its industrial terminal, in an operational setting that will keep the coexistence between heavy logistics involving petroleum derivatives and the environmental balance of the island’s coastline under close scrutiny.
The post Arinaga Port: Green Light for Industrial Terminal Expansion was first published on canarymaritime.com.
