Port accessWork is to begin this year on the Arasur logistics platform in Rivabellosa, Álava, to install a rail operations base for the Port of Bilbao, in accordance with an agreement signed by Ana Oregi from the Basque Government, José Zurita from the Provincial Council of Araba/Álava and Asier Atutxa, President of Bilbao Port Authority.
Bilbao Port Authority will contract out and manage the work, which is expected to cost a total of eight million three hundred thousand euros according to the agreement. The Basque Government will cover just over 36 percent of the cost (€3 million). This will be matched by Bilbao Port Authority, while Araba/Álava Provincial Council will provide the remaining €2.3 million.
The work which is to go ahead on the platform will initially occupy around 35,000 square metres alongside the Irún-Madrid tracks and involves expanding and improving operations at the Arasur logistics platform. This will be achieved by implementing a freight siding with a rail connection to the industrial estate and setting up the sidings so that they are consistent with the type and volume of freight handled by the Port of Bilbao. The additional land required for the adjacent development will be purchased at a later stage, with the facilities expected to take up an area of approximately 69,000 square metres.
