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Friportsur’s foundation stone ceremony marks the start of work on the cold logistics hub in the port of Huelva

09/11/2022

FRIPORTSUR INVESTS €34 MILLION IN THE COLD LOGISTICS HUB AT THE PORT OF HUELVA WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

The Ministry of Economy is supporting the first phase of this project with an incentive of 5.64 million euros from the IDEA Agency

Huelva, 9 November 2022.– The president of Frigoríficos Portuarios del Sur SL (FRIPORTSUR), Jose Luis Vallines and the CEO of the company, Salvador Urbistondo, accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Finance and European Funds of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Carolina España, the president of the Port of Huelva, Pilar Miranda, and the mayor of Palos de la Frontera, Carmelo Romero, today laid the foundation stone of the Cold Logistics Hub of the Port of Huelva, a project which is starting with new logistics facilities for conservation of temperature-controlled goods, which the company FRIPORTSUR is set to build in the Port and for which it has announced an investment of 34 million euros.

This project, which will be developed in two phases, has received the support of the Regional Ministry of Economy through the IDEA Agency for Innovation and Development of Economy through an incentive of 5.64 million euros for the implementation of the first phase, the eligible investment of which amounts to 14.12 million euros. This incentive is part of the Programme for Industrial Development, Competitiveness Improvement, Digital Transformation and Job Creation, co-financed with ERDF funds.

Frigoríficos Portuarios del Sur (FRIPORTSUR) offers the market product storage services under optimal conditions in short, medium and long term conservation chambers, upholding the cold chain from the product’s entry into the plant until its dispatch, with an optional freezing service also being offered. The project envisages the construction of a logistics facility for the storage and traffic of refrigerated goods using “eco-friendly cold” from the regasification processes of Enagás, an industry also located in the Port of Huelva. This synergy between the two port activities has driven this circular and sustainable economy initiative.

The facilities to be built include a self-supporting and automated cold store, a unit for the reception and dispatch of goods, dual climate chamber and tunnel freezers, a machine room, a workshop and offices, with a storage capacity of 180,000 cubic metres; the industrial refrigeration equipment (compressors, evaporators, exchangers), the necessary refrigeration facilities (panels, insulation, covers) and an automatic high-density storage system. The investment is based on a 35-year grant from the Port of Huelva.

The Cold Logistics Hub of the Port of Huelva is a project encompassed within a framework of collaboration between the company Frigoríficos Portuarios del Sur, the Port Authority of Huelva and the company Enagás, whereby the cold generated during the regasification process is used. This initiative is helping to improving the competitiveness of both the Port of Huelva and Enagás by making its regasification plant more efficient.

The CEO of Frigoríficos Portuarios del Sur thanked everyone for their involvement and presence on a key day for Friportsur, during which the foundation stone laying ceremony was held and construction started. Salvador Urbistondo highlighted the strategic nature and the Spain-wide and international impact of the hub and defined it as “an expert project conceived as an essential and highly specialised port space for the storage and management of temperature-controlled goods”.

Urbistondo also stressed that the refrigeration facility “represents a breakthrough and a clear technological innovation in Spain, based on a sustainable approach via the use of alternative energies”, with a significant reduction in energy and environmental costs.

The CEO of Frigoríficos Portuarios del Sur stated that “Friportsur is a unique project in Spain and represents an added-value contribution to the Port of Huelva, based of course on R&D, with the support and validation of the main player, the IDEA Agency, and with the special collaboration and allocation of permits by the Port Authority of Huelva and the City Council of Palos de la Frontera”.

 

The Regional Minister of Economy highlighted the industrial, sustainable and innovative nature of the project: “The company has been conceived as a highly specialised port area in terms of the management of temperature-controlled goods logistics, reducing its energy consumption and carbon footprint via the use of eco-friendly cold using the residual cold generated during Enagás’ regasification processes”.

“With this project, the industrial character of Huelva is strengthened and the character of the Port as a space for innovation, an economic driving force for the province and the region and a generator of economic activity and synergies between companies is highlighted”, indicated España, who emphasised that “the work being carried out in the Port makes it a space for excellence, capable of attracting and hosting large investment projects”.

 

The president of the Port of Huelva expressed her gratitude for the support of the Andalusian Regional Government for this project, as the Cold Logistics Hub “houses the first refrigerated facilities in Andalusia for the storage and transit of goods traded with Africa, which represents a great opportunity for growth for the Port of Huelva, which is looking towards the north of this continent as an emerging niche market with great expectations for growth”. Likewise, the president emphasised that “with the start-up of the Cold Logistics Hub, we intend to become the benchmark port in south-west Europe for this type of temperature-controlled goods”. Pilar Miranda also thanked the concessionary company, Frigoríficos Portuarios del Sur, for its investment efforts and the pioneering and innovative technological and energy project developed by Enagás’ subsidiary company, Efficiency for LNG Applications S.L (E4Efficiency), as the Cold Hub will use the cold generated by the LNG regasification process at the Enagás plant, which will reduce the cost of the carbon footprint by 90%.

 

The mayor of Palos de la Frontera has signalled his appreciation of the fact that the Cold Logistics Hub will be located in the municipality of this town, as “it is a very important project, which will attract other investments.” He also stressed that “Palos de la Frontera is one of the areas where there are more possibilities for investment and the establishment of new companies”, and pointed out that “the province needs a new reindustrialisation with the implementation of activities that prioritise the use of new technologies and forms of production that reduce environmental impact, and the cold hub is one of them, which is why we welcome it”.

 

This infrastructure will position the Port of Huelva in the global logistics chains of temperature-controlled goods, as well as driving an increase in agri-food exports via the Port of Huelva.

The Cold Logistics Hub will turn the South Quay into a benchmark centre in the field of temperature-controlled goods logistics, as a new service for customers in the hinterland of the Port of Huelva, which also represents a great business and employment opportunity for Huelva and the perishable products sector.

The South Quay, with a 58,000 square metre container terminal managed by the company Yilport Huelva, has 240 reefer inlets for goods, as well as other services such as a modern Border Control Post (BCP) in the vicinity. In this intermodal platform, which combines various modes of transport, there is a 55,000 square metre Ro-Ro zone, equipped with 16 electrical outlets for lorries in a multi-purpose area.

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