Ports of Barcelona, Shanghai to work together on decarbonization projects

From left, Shen Wei, Shanghai International Port Group senior manager, and Santiago Garcia-Milà, deputy general manager and head of innovation and business strategy at the Port of Barcelona (Photo: Port of Barcelona)

The Port of Barcelona announced May 14 that it has signed an agreement with the Port of Shanghai—the top port in global container traffic—exploring opportunities for collaboration in innovative projects to make it possible to exchange knowledge in the port, maritime and logistics fields, roll out innovative projects and decarbonize the sector. 

The document was signed by Santiago Garcia-Milà, the deputy general manager and head of innovation and business strategy for the Port of Barcelona, and Shen Wei, the senior manager of the Shanghai International Port Group, during the Barcelona-Shanghai Investment Summit held at the Royal Palace of Pedralbes (Barcelona) to deepen economic and commercial cooperation between both cities. 

The agreement recalls that ports are the main nodes through which world trade passes and therefore they must work together to develop efficient and resilient port and maritime services that guarantee the functioning of their industries and economies of their hinterlands.

To achieve this, both ports will foster the exchange of knowledge and experiences on topics such as innovation, standardization of digital processes and the development of smart ports.

To the same end, the ports of Shanghai and Barcelona have agreed to share projects for the sustainability and decarbonization of port activity. 

This cooperation will take shape in various initiatives, including promoting joint training projects in specific subjects, particularly port management, digitalization, reducing their carbon footprint and developing green corridors and security. 

The agreement also recalls that Barcelona and Shanghai are currently the top cruise ports in Europe and Asia, respectively, the former with considerable experience in managing this type of traffic and the latter with enormous potential for growth.

The agreement therefore also provides for cooperation and the exchange of knowledge to develop the cruise industry under the highest standards of quality and sustainability. 

After signing the agreement, the representatives of the Port of Shanghai traveled to the Port of Barcelona, where they held a working meeting and took a boat trip to learn about the logistics and services offered by the Catalan infrastructure.