The Port of València, in the top 20 world connectivity
The Port of València consolidates its position among the top 20 best connected ports in the world according to the Port liner shipping connectivity index (LSCI) drawn up by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Specifically, the Valencian port precinct occupies 19th position in the second quarter of the year, moving up one position compared to the beginning of 2021. The Port of Valencia continues to occupy first place in this ranking among Spanish and Mediterranean ports, and fourth place in Europe as a whole.
Maritime connectivity fosters new opportunities for the ports and their hinterland by favouring greater participation in international trade and better access to markets, which reduces the transport costs of goods. In the case of Valenciaport, the precinct maintains connections with almost 1,000 ports in 168 different countries (87% of the countries in the world). In fact, from the Valencian docks, which operate with a hundred regular lines managed by 35 different shipping companies, goods have been sent or arrived from China or the United States, but the capillarity of the Port of Valencia also allows goods to be sent to remote islands such as Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, the Virgin Islands or Guam, among others.
According to the UNCTAD ranking, the Port of València has a score of 70.7 points, a few tenths above the previous record for the first quarter of the year. Since this report began in 2006, the Valencian port has improved its evaluation by 29 points, from 41.93 to the current 70.7. This improvement reaffirms Valenciaport’s commitment as a facilitator of commercial exchange in its area of influence, which represents 55% of Spain’s GDP, and its commitment to strengthening connectivity by adapting its infrastructures and services to the needs of the market with the aim of attracting the largest number of shipping companies and shipping lines.
Port facilities play a central role in local and national economic development as transit and multimodal connectivity platforms for other destinations. The port operations of hub ports such as Valencia create jobs that generate wealth, attract industrial activities, serve as an incubator for new services and contribute to the growth of their surroundings. In the case of Valenciaport, which occupies the first position in this index in the Mediterranean and fourth in Europe, the role of trade facilitator for the Spanish economy and exporting companies is valued.
According to the Liner Shiping Connectivity Index, the Asian ports lead the connectivity ranking with Shanghai at the head of the world ranking followed by the ports of Singapore, Ningbo, Pusan, Hong Kong and Qingdao, Rotterdam in seventh position, Antwerp in ninth and Hamburg in fifteenth place. After Valencia, as the fourth European port and nineteenth in the world, among the Spanish ports, Algeciras is in 21st position, which climbs ten positions compared to the first quarter of the year, while Barcelona is in 26th position.
