The debate over the future of Fonsalía port has returned to the center of Tenerife’s political landscape following a methodological and political disagreement between the regional government and the island government. The project’s inclusion in the new Canary Islands Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy is based on an Island Planning Plan (PIOT) approved in 2002, a regulatory framework that Tenerife’s own island council considers outdated and incapable of meeting current demographic, environmental and connectivity requirements.
Tenerife Island Council’s First Vice President, José Miguel Ruano, said the regional document is based on planning that the island plenary unanimously agreed to reform. The revision, currently being prepared, will leave open the final location of the port hub intended to connect Tenerife with the western islands — La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro — making any development conditional on a rigorous comparison of technical alternatives and, as a priority, on the environmental impact factor.
The controversy not only highlights the gap between regional planning and the island’s reality, but also exposes the internal tensions affecting the governing coalition at the Island Council headquarters. Coalición Canaria (CC) and the Partido Popular (PP) hold opposing positions on the viability of the infrastructure on the coast of Guía de Isora, a disagreement that was explicitly left outside the governance agreement pending a subsequent technical consensus.
A divided coalition on the coast of Guía de Isora
From the nationalist camp, Ruano reiterated CC’s opposition to building the original mega-port, arguing that environmental constraints along the island’s southwestern coastline advise against a project of that scale. The party advocates reassessing the maritime transport map by strengthening existing facilities or seeking alternatives with a lower impact on marine ecosystems.
By contrast, the Partido Popular refuses to remove the option from the catalogue of strategic infrastructure. Island Vice President Lope Afonso (PP) has defended the need to keep the debate open, proposing a reconsideration of Fonsalía’s original design. The conservative alternative envisages a port of significantly reduced dimensions, without heavy commercial cargo capacity and focused exclusively on inter-island transport for passengers and light vehicles to the so-called “green islands.”
For the PP, operational congestion at Los Cristianos port requires a structural solution that cannot be postponed indefinitely without jeopardizing the economic cohesion of the western archipelago. The party insists that any decision must be based on objective assessments of technical suitability and environmental viability, without ruling out the Guía de Isora location from the outset if its scale is redefined.
Submissions and administrative deadlines
Tenerife Island Council will submit formal objections to the Canary Islands Government’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy in order to correct the references to the 2002 planning framework. The island council plans to submit an initial proposal for the amendment of the Island Planning Plan before the current term of office ends. The regulatory reform process will determine whether Tenerife opts to decentralize its port network toward the southwest or consolidates the Los Cristianos–Santa Cruz axis through operational and technological improvements. The outcome of the proceedings will determine the allocation of public funds for transport infrastructure over the next decade and test the island coalition’s ability to agree on a sustainable connectivity model in the face of the regional administration’s demands.
The article “The key issues behind CC and PP’s split over the Fonsalía port in Tenerife” was first published on canarymaritime.com.
