The Port Authority of Gijón today promoted the signing of the Commitment for the Competitiveness of the Port of Gijón, an initiative born with the aim of combining efforts, strengthening collaboration among the different agents of the port community, and moving towards a more efficient, competitive port prepared to face future challenges.
The agreement, signed by the President of the Port Authority of Gijón, Nieves Roqueñí, and more than 40 representatives of the signatory entities, represents a commitment to joint work as a fundamental tool to consolidate El Musel's position as a strategic logistical and industrial infrastructure for Asturias.
The signing was attended by representatives of a large number of entities and organizations that are part of the logistics-port chain: industrial companies, shipping companies, port terminals, consignees, logistics operators, road and rail transporters, port service providers, joined by business and trade union organizations, and representatives of different local, regional, and state administration bodies.
For the President of the Port Authority of Gijón, Nieves Roqueñí, "the commitment starts from a fundamental idea: the competitiveness of a port does not depend solely on its infrastructures, but also on the ability of all agents involved in its activity to work in a coordinated manner, improve their processes, and offer effective responses to the needs of companies and markets."
"In a context marked by the transformation of logistics chains, the energy transition, digitalization, and increasing competition among port enclaves, El Musel aims to strengthen its position through a shared strategy that allows better use of its capacities, diversification of its activity, and generation of new opportunities."
The President highlighted the importance of this agreement for the future of El Musel: "Today we take a very important step because we collectively assume that the great challenges ahead can only be faced through collaboration. The Port of Gijón has infrastructures and capacities to continue growing, but our true potential also lies in the strength of the entire port community and our ability to work together with shared objectives."
Roqueñí particularly emphasized the diversity of agents participating in port activity: "In El Musel, industry, maritime transport, rail, road, logistics, and a wide variety of specialized services converge. Each plays an essential role, and we all form part of the same chain. Therefore, competitiveness cannot be an individual task: it requires coordination, trust, commitment, and a permanent will to improve."
The President also underlined the economic and social dimension of this initiative: "We cannot forget that the port is a strategic infrastructure serving Asturias. Improving our efficiency, our connectivity, and the quality of our services also means helping our companies to be more competitive, favoring the arrival of new activities, and generating investment and employment opportunities."
In this regard, she concluded that "when the port advances, Asturias also advances. That is the true dimension of this commitment: working together to build a stronger port, capable of accompanying the transformation of our industry and contributing to the economic growth of our community."
The Commitment for the Competitiveness of the Port of Gijón establishes six major priority areas of action: operational efficiency, service quality, coordination among agents, digitalization and innovation, traffic attraction and diversification, and sustainability and security.
Based on these lines of work, initiatives will be promoted to optimize port operations and administrative processes, reduce inefficiencies, improve coordination among different operators, and facilitate a more agile and competitive response to customer needs.
Likewise, the agreement contemplates the promotion of innovation and digital transformation, the improvement of logistical connections, and the development of joint actions that contribute to attracting new traffic, diversifying activity, and moving towards a more sustainable transport model.
The objective is to reinforce the vision of El Musel as an integrated and intermodal logistics system, where the efficiency of the whole depends on the proper functioning and coordination of all its components.
This orientation is especially relevant for the Asturian industrial fabric, whose competitiveness is closely linked to the availability of reliable, efficient logistics services adapted to the needs of its supply chains.
The commitment will have an initial validity of five years and will remain open to the incorporation of new companies, organizations, and administrations linked to port activity, with the aim of progressively expanding participation and strengthening the scope of this initiative.
