Malaga Port launches largest expansion in 20 years: construction of dock number eight

The last two improvements happened in 2001 and 2004, with the completion of the eastern dock and the container terminal, respectively.

On Wednesday, the Port Authority's board of directors approved the call for tenders for the construction work on the new dock. The project, with a budget of 48.3 million euros, funded entirely by the Port Authority, will enable the port to cope with the strong growth in freight traffic.

Over the course of just 27 months, the contractor will have to undertake the extension of the existing dock nine and convert the former fishing harbour.

This will achieve three strategic objectives. The first is that the extension will provide the container terminal with additional space, making it possible to serve two large-capacity container ships simultaneously.

Second, the new dock eight will serve Panamax-class vessels of up to 80,000 tonnes, which will strengthen Malaga's position in the international trade in agri-food bulk goods.

Third, the creation of an operational area of over 70,000 square metres will provide new storage spaces and facilitate more efficient operations.

"This is the last major expansion we can carry out at the port, where space is limited by the city itself and there is no scope for further growth. Therefore, our only option is to expand the docks," Port Authority chairman Carlos Rubio said at the end of the meeting.

According to him, the extension of dock nine paves the way for handling more traffic from shipping lines connecting to very distant destinations, such as the Americas, China and India, which use very large vessels and require more berthing space.

"Until now, we could only serve one, but once the work is complete, we will be able to handle two large vessels simultaneously, boosting our competitiveness in container logistics," Rubio stated.

In turn, this will provide the port with a new berthing line specifically for large agri-food bulk carriers: one of the most significant types of traffic.

"Major multinationals in the bulk trade need to minimise freight costs as much as possible, which is why they are increasingly using larger ships," he explained.

The current facilities do not have sufficient capacity to accommodate them, so the project includes deep-dredging work to enable merchant ships with a maximum draught of almost 14 metres to moor.

Furthermore, the new dock will be around 360 metres long, more than enough for this type of vessel. "We are set to become one of Spain's ports with the greatest capacity for bulk cargo," Rubio stated.

The project includes a large operations and storage area, featuring concrete silos rather than the marquees used to date, which will have a much greater capacity. In addition, the new dock will provide a spacious operations area for loading and unloading.

"This is an absolutely strategic project, not only for the port, but also for the business fabric of the province and the surrounding area. An increasing number of entrepreneurs see it as a key tool for their international operations. We are set to make a huge leap forward in terms of quality," Rubio said.

The creation of this new area is a response to the trends in freight traffic over recent years, with strong growth making it necessary to expand operational spaces. An obstacle are the city's coastal neighbourhoods and streets that entirely surround the port, stretching the space to its limits.

In the first half of 2026 alone, the port handled more than three million tonnes of cargo, representing a 13 per cent increase compared with the same period the previous year. The performance of container traffic has been particularly significant, rising by 16 per cent, driven by exports.

In fact, the fastest-growing sector is containerised exports, which have increased by more than 200 per cent compared with the first half of 2025.

As this is a large budget, the tender requires Cabinet's approval, although Rubio expects the central government's decision to be made within two months at the latest. The tender process could therefore finish towards the end of this year or early next year.

It is worth noting that the governing board of Puertos del Estado approved on Monday the 2027 budget for the state port system, which includes public investment totalling nearly 1.57 billion euros.

Among the most significant port infrastructure investment projects due to begin next year is, in fact, the conversion of the former fishing harbour into the new dock eight.

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