The Ports of Barcelona and Busan have joined forces by opening the Korean logistics platform located in the Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL) of the Port of Barcelona.
Both parties have signed an agreement to start a company that will manage and promote this platform among Korean companies. The hub will be responsible for managing and promoting the stable logistics platform for Korean companies in Barcelona.
The Port of Busan holds a 51% stake in the B2B Logistics Busan & Barcelona Hub S.L., while the Port of Barcelona holds the remaining 49%.
The facilities, occupying an 8,920m2 logistics warehouse located within the ZAL, will facilitate the Port of Barcelona’s role as the entry point for Korean goods into southern Europe and will act as a distribution centre for the Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian markets.
“From today, Catalonia and Korea are closer. The ports of Busan and Barcelona have launched a collaboration to bring the Korean economy closer to Europe through our port,” said Damià Calvet, President of the Port of Barcelona. “We are proud that the Port of Busan, which is Korea’s top port, has chosen Barcelona as its southern European port.
“Asia is our reference market and represents more than 50% of the exports and imports that pass through the Port of Barcelona. The Korean economy is eminently technological, and we want to focus on capturing these types of goods.”
This comes after the news that the Port of Barcelona has seen freight and container traffic both increase substantially from the previous year.
In a recent social media post, the port announced that between January and August 2021 freight traffic grew 17.5% compared to the same period in 2020, exceeding 44.4 million tonnes. On top of this, container traffic reached 2.4 million TEU, an increase of 31.1% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
