The Public Agency of Ports of Andalusia tenders the surveillance of Caleta de Vélez, Fuengirola, Marbella-La Bajadilla, and Estepona, with a budget of €717,187.31 excluding VAT for the Málaga lot. Bids can be submitted until October 23 at 1:00 PM.
The Public Agency of Ports of Andalusia (APPA) has tendered a new security and surveillance contract for the four ports directly managed by the Junta in the province of Málaga: Caleta de Vélez, Fuengirola, Marbella-La Bajadilla, and Estepona. The tender, which covers a total of 21 port facilities in Andalusia, has a total budget of €3,712,711 including taxes and a base budget excluding VAT of €3,068,356.37, as reported by Diario Sur.
The contract is divided into four territorial lots. The Málaga lot has €717,187.31 before taxes and includes the four Málaga ports as well as La Atunara, in La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz), functionally attached to the Málaga western port area. Interested companies can submit their bids until October 23 at 1:00 PM.
The Minister of Development and Mobility, Mario Muñoz-Atanet, has defended the contract as "an essential step to ensure both the safety of users and the facilities themselves." The objective, according to information released by the Junta, is to improve port activity and its territorial integration within the strategic lines of the regional port system.
The functions expected of the awarded company go beyond the physical presence of guards. It must protect the facilities and their users, control the identity of individuals when necessary, and supervise objects, packages, goods, and vehicles accessing certain areas. It will also have to prevent criminal acts and administrative violations within the port premises.
Fishing activity is another specific point of the contract. The guards will monitor the unloading of vessels and ensure that catches are directed to the corresponding fish market or, if transferred elsewhere, that they have the required documentation for transporting fresh fish. This function particularly affects Caleta de Vélez, Fuengirola, La Bajadilla, and Estepona, which APPA classifies as ports with recreational and fishing activity.
Caleta de Vélez will incorporate a particularity: the guards will have an electric bicycle for quick movement around the premises. The same measure will be implemented in Garrucha, Barbate, and Isla Cristina. The Junta justifies this equipment for operational reasons and for using an emission-free means of transport within the facilities.
The four affected Málaga ports concentrate a significant part of the regional nautical offer. Caleta de Vélez has 274 berths, Fuengirola has 289, La Bajadilla has 268, and Estepona has 483. Together, they exceed 1,300 sports moorings, in addition to maintaining fishing activity and other port services.
The tender coincides with significant changes in some of these facilities. The most notable case is La Bajadilla, in Marbella, where the Junta announced this September the awarding of a new concession for its expansion and transformation. The project foresees a private investment of over €200 million and increasing the current capacity from 268 to about 750 berths, with the new concessionaire expected to take over the facilities from January 1.
In the easternmost part of the province, Caleta de Vélez maintains a unique role by combining a significant fishing fleet with its sports dock. The facility has 274 berths and includes a fish market and other infrastructures related to fish marketing. APPA also approved a new delimitation of port spaces and uses for the facility at the end of 2025, published in the BOJA last January.
The new service will initially last for one year and may be extended for another term. In total, it will cover 21 ports across Málaga, Cádiz, Huelva, and Almería and facilities with over 5,000 berths. The awarding will now determine which company will take on surveillance that in Málaga will cover from Caleta de Vélez, in the Axarquía, to Estepona, passing through Fuengirola and Marbella, as well as the functional attachment of the Cádiz port of La Atunara.
You may also like
