Global Ports Holding Plc (GPH), the world's largest independent cruise port operator, said that following a public tender process, the Port Authority of Las Palmas has awarded preferred bidder status to Global Ports Canary Islands S.L. ("GPCI"), an 80:20 joint venture between GPH and Sepcan S.L. to operate cruise port concessions for Las Palmas Cruise Ports in the Canary Islands in Spain.
The news came only about three weeks after GPH had won a contract to operate and develop cruise facilities in Kalundborg in Denmark, its first contract in the Baltic Sea region.
“The concessions cover the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, port of Arrecife (Lanzarote) and Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura), which have tenures of 40 years, 20 years and 20 years respectively. Following successful execution of the concession agreements, GPH, as part of GPCI, will use its global expertise and operating model to manage the cruise port operations in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura,” the company said in a statement.
Global Ports Holding (GPH), GPCI and the Port Authority of Las Palmas would now work towards agreeing on the terms of the concession agreements. The concessions are expected to commence before the end of the current financial year, although there can be no certainty as to the timing or that the final conditions will be satisfied. Las Palmas Ports (including the three islands), with about 1.5 million passengers annually, is ranked 3rd busiest ports in Spain after Barcelona and the Balearic Islands and in top 20 of Europe.
Las Palmas Ports are a key destination for Southern Atlantic itineraries with great airlift connectivity. During the pandemic in 2020 unlike other European ports that were closed to cruise traffic, the three ports in Las Palmas welcomed over 500,000 passengers with the “bubble cruises” around the islands. “There is a huge demand on winter cruising in the region due to the mild climate during this period of the year compared with other regions in Europe and the cultural and outdoor activities,” GPH said.
GPH has its headquarters in Istanbul and it is listed in London.
