The board of directors of the Port Authority of Las Palmas plans to unlock the modification of the timelines for one of the most complex industrial infrastructure projects in its main dock. The regulatory body has given the green light to the resolution granting a new formal extension to the shipping company Hamilton y Compañía, S.A. to complete the construction of its storage shed and naval repair area, a strategic development executed under the umbrella of the HAMTEC alliance, namely, Hamilton and Tecnavín (Somar Capital).
The processing of this extension for the definitive enclosure carries a heavy bureaucratic and legal legacy dating back to February 2019, when the Port Authority awarded a key area of 8,076 square meters on the Reina Sofía South Dock to the temporary union formed by Hamilton and Tecnavin. That initial allocation was signed amidst a strong corporate storm due to administrative challenges raised by the competing firm Gramelcan, whose challenge ultimately escalated to the judicial route through a contentious-administrative appeal after being dismissed at first instance by the port technicians.
Although the litigation in the courts overshadowed the initial stages of the project, the Port Authority —then presided over by Juan José Cardona— defended the legality and economic viability of the HAMTEC terminal. The original delay in the start of mechanical work was not due to the judicial front opened by its competitors but to the complex technical adaptation of the security conditions required for handling heavy industrial bulk and the final design of the offshore drilling vessel assistance facility.
The resolution directly affects the public domain concession that the company operates in the current Functional Area 6 (historically listed as Functional Area 3) of the service area of the Port of Las Palmas. The public domain land is specifically assigned to naval repair activities and multi-purpose terminal, a space authorized to operate with non-food solid bulk —including the unloading and stockpiling of critical industrial materials such as barite, bentonite, and cement— while explicitly banning the traffic and storage of commercial containers.
Maritime sector managers insist that the terms of public domain concessions are fixed and time-limited. Each month of bureaucratic delay in obtaining municipal permits severely distorts business plans, alters financial amortization projections, and slows down the technological modernization of the Port of La Luz against its direct competitors on the Atlantic coast. With this extension in hand, Hamilton seeks to accelerate the completion of the storage shed to stabilize the reception of mineral components before the closure of the balances for the current financial year.
