The Special Plan for the port of Ibiza begins its environmental assessment

The document, which will allow strategic projects for modernisation, sustainability and port-city integration to be developed, now begins its environmental assessment.

The Special Plan for the Port of Eivissa has taken a new step in its administrative processing following its initial approval by the Governing Board of Vila Town Council, after incorporating the objections submitted during the public consultation process for its previous version, which involved substantial changes to the document.

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) has prioritised the processing of this urban planning instrument in recent years, promoting its technical development and maintaining close coordination with the various administrations involved, aware that its approval is essential in order to make many of the strategic investments planned for the Port of Eivissa a reality.

With this step, the Special Plan completes a key stage in its administrative process and will now be submitted to the Directorate General for Urban Planning Harmonisation and Environmental Assessment of the Government of the Balearic Islands for the preparation of the corresponding strategic environmental report.

Final approval of the Special Plan, which must also include the mandatory reports from the Island Council of Eivissa, the General Coastal Administration, the APB and Puertos del Estado, is essential for the development of the strategic actions included in the APB’s investment plan for the Port of Eivissa.

The Balearic Islands Port Authority has defined an ambitious investment programme for the Port of Eivissa, with an overall allocation of €104.31 million for the period 2026-2029. This plan represents a firm commitment to modernising port infrastructure, improving mobility and moving towards a more sustainable, efficient port model that is better integrated with the city.

Among the most significant planned actions is the development of the Ibosim seafront promenade, conceived as a transformative project that will include citizen participation processes and measures aimed at improving road access to the Botafoc area in order to reduce traffic congestion.

The plan also includes works on the Botafoc breakwater, which are already under way, and on various quays in the port, together with the construction and adaptation of strategic infrastructure such as the boatyard, new parking areas and the future maritime station for the Eivissa–La Savina route.

The investment programme also includes major actions aimed at environmental sustainability, including the implementation of OPS systems, Onshore Power Supply, which will allow electricity to be supplied to vessels while they are in port and significantly reduce atmospheric and noise emissions. Likewise, the modernisation of basic service networks, such as the drinking water supply network, is also planned.

Overall, these actions will strengthen the port’s operational capacity, improve the quality of the services provided and contribute to greater port-city integration.

Work on the preparation of the Special Plan for the Port of Eivissa began in March 2018 through a technical committee made up of representatives of the Balearic Islands Port Authority and Eivissa Town Council.

The first initial approval of the document took place in December 2023 and the second in May 2025. After each of these milestones, the Plan was submitted to public consultation, with changes incorporated as a result of the objections raised regarding the proposed planning framework.

The initial approval now agreed constitutes the third such decision within the procedure and allows the administrative process to continue through its submission to the regional environmental body for the issuing of the Strategic Environmental Report, a step prior to obtaining the necessary sectoral reports and the final approval of the document.

Throughout this process, the APB has maintained the Special Plan as one of its strategic priorities for Eivissa, promoting the technical work needed to speed up its processing and encourage coordination between administrations. The document’s entry into its environmental phase represents a significant step forward in providing the port with the necessary urban planning framework to execute the planned investments and address, with guarantees, the challenges of mobility, sustainability and growth in the coming years.

The Special Plan is the urban planning tool for ports of general state interest and aims to coordinate the powers of the different administrations over the port area, providing the necessary framework for the development of the projects that will define the future evolution of the Port of Eivissa.