The president of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Port Authority, Pedro Suárez, is finalizing the tenders he wants to set on course before taking on the challenge of running for mayor of La Laguna with the PP. To begin with, he will serve as a councilor. This summer, Suárez took another step toward consolidating the strategic infrastructure at the Port of Granadilla, the crown jewel of European defense in the view of NATO geopolitical experts—and therefore the recipient of so much attention from Brussels.
This involves the launch of a public tender for the works to close and develop the Ribera wharf, as the island facility prepares to substantially transform its operational and logistical capacity. The contract, supported by a solid budget of €49.4 million, including IGIC, represents one of the region’s most significant public investments aimed at strengthening maritime connectivity, attracting cargo and developing offshore logistics.
However, the project comes after a complex administrative process. On April 27, 2026, the Port Authority’s board declared the first tendering procedure, file C2025-00047, unsuccessful because no economic operator submitted a bid. A subsequent analysis found that the lack of offers was due to the significant gap between the initial budget and actual market prices.
At the beginning of 2026, inflation resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, rising energy prices and a general increase in the costs of labor, fuel, cement and steel meant that the initial conditions were not economically viable for construction companies.
To bring the budget items into line with economic reality and ensure effective competition, an exhaustive review of wage tables and material costs was launched. During this process, technicians also detected an error in the original structural calculations for the quay caissons: certain calculation assumptions had been duplicated, unjustifiably increasing the amount of steel required. A corrected version was drafted in August 2026, eliminating this excess without altering the project’s design, layout or dimensions and setting the adjusted investment budget at €46,225,311.71, excluding IGIC.
With the need to complete the quay to a width of 30 meters and finish filling the rear apron still in place—and with the counterbreakwater and protective works already built—the project resumed its funding process. The project has strong European backing: 32.89% of the works qualifies for co-financing at a rate of 85% through the ERDF funds under Spain’s 2021–2027 Multiregional Programme.
The works are scheduled to take 20 months and will be spread across four budget years: beginning in 2026 with €49,329.63, reaching their peak in 2027 (€12,377,644.35) and 2028 (€27,502,582.22), and concluding in 2029 with €9.5 million. From a civil engineering perspective, the project covers a length of 543.31 linear meters. The main structure will be based on the sinking and installation of 11 large reinforced-concrete caissons, each 48.25 meters long and founded at a depth of -18.00 meters. The seaward alignment will be completed at both ends with two 5.78-meter submerged concrete closing blocks, followed by the full grading and paving of the surface.
The Port Authority has drawn up strict tender specifications to prevent operational disruptions. The division into lots has been expressly rejected to avoid interference with daily port traffic, and the mandatory assignment of a specialized caisson vessel is required. Subcontracting the main management team—the site manager and supervisors—is also prohibited. The award process will be conducted through an open procedure subject to harmonized regulations, with the technical proposal accounting for 49% and the financial offer for 51%. The successful bidder must submit its proposals within 35 calendar days of the notice’s publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, undertake to provide job training at the facility and take out maritime civil liability insurance covering €6 million.
The article ‘Granadilla’s troubled course that Suárez wants to set straight before becoming a La Laguna councilor with the PP’ was first published on canarymaritime.com.
