The “Plan for the use of the port spaces of the port of Vilagarcía” was approved by order FOM 3037/2005 of 14 September, and published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 3 October 2005.
This document was amended by Order FOM 823/2015, of 13 April, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 6 May 2015, which approves the substantial modification of the delimitation of port spaces and uses of the port of Vilagarcía de Arousa and its estuary. Through this modification, the old local headquarters of the Administration of the Navy (Comandancia de Marina) -which had been released by the Ministry of Defence years before and returned to the Port Authority in 2008- was incorporated into the port public domain. Likewise, the document incorporated into the land service area, in the Commercial Dock area, an area of 13,320 m2, generated by the execution of the West Commercial Dock Expansion works; The exclusion of the lighthouses from the port service area was also formalized – without this altering, in any case, their status as part of port public domain attached to the maritime signaling service managed by the Port Authority of Vilagarcía de Arousa. Lastly, the adaptation to current legislation was carried out both regarding the name of the document itself - which becomes Delimitation of Port Spaces and Uses (DEUP) – as well as the uses assigned to the different port areas.
On 4 November 2015, State Ports (Puertos del Estado) sent a copy of the Order dated 6 October 2015, which removed from the public domain a plot located in the A Concha-O Ramal area. The aforementioned plot has an area of 6,829.5 square metres, and with this modification it is no longer part of the port public domain, being a patrimonial asset of the Port Authority. Currently, this plot is no longer owned by the Port as it was acquired by Vilagarcía Council in December 2021, with the prior agreement of the Board of Directors of the Port Authority.
Moreover, at Board of Directors meeting which took place on October 21, 2021, it was approved the declaration of unnecessary status and the beginning of the process of release of the plot of the aforementioned former headquarters of the Administration of the Navy. The aim of this process is to make possible the creation of a health center, by virtue of an agreement reached between the Consellería de Sanidade (Regional Department of Health), the Council of Vilagarcía and the Port Authority of Vilagarcía itself. Through the ministerial order dated April 4 of the Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana (Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda), this plot, with an area of 4,626.95 m2, was removed from the state port public domain, as it was unnecessary for port purposes, and in December 2022 it was sold to Vilagarcía Council.
Commercial Port Use
It is the one assigned to those spaces in which the commercial activity of the port takes place. It includes the activities of loading passenger ships and cargo ships, those of maneuvering and handling at the docks, the storage, whether covered or uncovered, the provisioning or repair of vessels, the areas or facilities at the service of the transport of passengers, vehicles, merchandise and any other similar activity carried out with the same purpose in the service area. It also includes the proportional part of the roads and railways necessary to ensure the functionality of the area. It encompasses the categories of: Liquid Bulks, Solid Bulks, General Merchandise, Containers, Ro-Ro, Multipurpose and Passengers.
Nautical-Sports Port Use
It is the one assigned to those spaces that serve as a basis for the development of nautical-sports practices or are intended for docking and access for boats. It includes the docks at the service of this activity as well as the land areas dedicated to the installation of the necessary support services.
Complementary or Auxiliary Port Use
It is assigned to those port areas that host activities directly or indirectly related to port activity and that are considered complementary to it. As well as port signaling and navigation support functions.
Use linked to the Port-City interaction
It is the one assigned to those port areas in which equipment activities are carried out, such as cultural and recreational facilities, trade fair, exhibitions and other non-port commercial activities, provided that the future development of the port and port traffic operations are not impaired.
One port, multiple activities
The distribution of uses in the different spaces managed by the Vilagarcía Port Authority is committed to clearly differentiating a commercial-industrial port, located towards the south and where the largest depths, berthing lines and storage areas are concentrated; and a citizen port, which coincides with the maritime façade of the city of Vilagarcía itself and which is aimed at port-city interaction. In this area, there are leisure and recreational areas, cultural facilities, green areas, parking lots, walkways and roads, as well as the bike lane, approximately two kilometres long, between O Ramal and Ferrazo. Approximately 30% of all the land managed by the port is aimed at these uses.
As for the southern area of the port, there are the Comercial, Comboa and Ferrazo docks, with depths of up to 13 metres. Currently, practically all of the loading and unloading activity at the Arousa docks is concentrated in this area, although a significant storage capacity is maintained at the O Ramal dock. Additional information can be obtained on the port areas intended for commercial and industrial activity in the sections on Infrastructures and Docks and Terminals.