José Llorca, president of Ports of the State, was in charge of providing the closing conference of the Ibero -American Course on Technology, Operations and Environmental Management. Under the title ‘Port consequences of changes in economic geography’, Llorca performed an exhaustive analysis of maritime transport, how he has experienced significant growth in recent decades and how maritime commercial routes are concentrated.
Llorca pointed out that 80% of world trade is channeled by the sea; In addition, he pointed out, in recent years against increases around 2.5-3% of world GDP, the Movement of Merchandise increased in percentages close to 5%. One of the elements that has led to this growth, according to Llorca, is container traffic, which he described "a high value added traffic." In this regard, he pointed out that in recent years this traffic is growing in 10%percentages.
He also referred to the change in commercial flow between regions, noting that traffic enhancement in emerging regions is taking place. For Llorca, in the coming years, maritime trade will experience an important novelty: the extension of the Panama Canal, which will have important consequences on international transport routes, promoting a change in the sense of trade from Extreme East to Europe.
With respect to Spain, he stressed that "the Spanish port system is located in a central position between the east and west of the large international maritime transport routes, both in the current situation and with the expansion of the Panama Canal." In figures, the system, composed of 46 ports, channels 60% of exports, and 85% of imports; It is 1.1% of GDP and generates 100,000 direct jobs.
During the closing ceremony, the president of the Port Authority of Santander, José Joaquín Martínez Sieso, also intervened, who expressed the satisfaction of the port of Santander for being able to organize this course: ”It allows us to project ourselves beyond our borders, and transmit our strengths and the quality of the services we provide ”. Martínez Sieso also addressed the other institutions that participate in this course, the University of Cantabria, the UIMP and the Organization of American States, indicating the important contributions that each one performs to this course. Similarly, he thanked the directors of the same.
The ceremony, in which all attendees were present, from different Latin American countries and with different professional profiles, also had the intervention of two of the directors, Cristina López Arias, director of the port of Santander; and Iñigo Losada, Professor of the Department of Sciences and Environmental Water Techniques of the UC. Next to them were Juan Enrique Varona, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Relations and Coordination of Cantabria International UC Campus; Sebastián Coll, Vice Chancellor of Internationalization of the UIMP, and Jorge Durán, head of the Secretariat of the Inter -American Commission of Ports of the OAS.
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