The project has experienced a minor three-month delay due to the necessity of incorporating technical enhancements into the work. This extended the timelines as a new tender process was required to include these changes.
“"Considering the deteriorated state of the current ice factory, it was decided to build a new one to achieve greater efficiency for the fleet, which will be supplied with all services in a single location: water, plastic boxes, and now ice, in the same area where fish is unloaded, without having to move to another point for these supplies."
The construction contract has been awarded to the temporary joint venture formed by Giroa S. A. U. and Kuario Engineering Quality, for a price of 2.7 million euros and an execution period of ten months. In addition to the economic offer, key selection criteria included technical assistance in case of breakdowns and energy consumption, which will be set at 37.57 kilowatts per ton of ice generated.
The new facilities will be relocated from the esplanade of the Martillo pier to the fishermen's guild building, situated in the Erroxape port area. It will feature two supply exits: one to the north for boats and another to the south for trucks. The ground floor will house the ice silo, ammonia circuit compressors, and a maintenance workshop. Below the office mezzanine, the machine room will be located, while the control office will be on the first floor and the evaporators on the roof.
The new installations will have a storage capacity of 90 tons and the ability to supply 30 tons per hour. Once outside, the ice will pass through a conveyor belt scale, with continuous weight measurement. At this point, it will be decided whether the supply is directed to boats or trucks, via an automatic inverted 'Y'-shaped valve.
The space currently occupied by the old factory, which is over half a century old, will be transformed into a nautical-sports, fishing, and leisure area, as defined by the current planning regulations.
Another delayed action is the replacement of an industrial pavilion in the port's commercial zone, as the tender was left deserted. This intervention aims to improve the management of goods unloaded in the Bizkaia dock, optimize available space, and strengthen economic activity associated with the port area. With an investment of over 670,270 euros, the project includes the demolition of the current warehouse, located on the Erroxape pier, due to its poor condition and limited capacity to provide the area with a larger usable surface area that meets the growing demand for space from port operators.
