As explained elDiario.esnone of the competent authorities was aware of the project that van de Rakt's company wants to develop. Naturally, the same businessman acknowledged to the media that he needs government permission and that the project depends on it.
Eivissa: one of the areas in Spain where the housing problem is most serious
As Hans van de Rakt said to the media elDiario.esworkers “need a decent place” to live, “not in tents or in a room with ten other people.” The Dutchman believes that “a cruise ship that has everything under control and has adequate infrastructure” is better.
Housing on the island of Eivissa is particularly serious, lor that forces the residents to leave it. Of course, these workers actually have jobs and salaries that would guarantee a higher quality of life in other parts of the country. Specific and according to the data of the INE In the last quarter of 2023, the salary per employee in the Balearic Islands amounted to 3,216.64 euros, an amount exceeded only in four other autonomy. But it is also one of the regions where house prices and especially house prices are rising rentIs higher.
The Balearic Islands are one of the areas in Spain that are welcome greater number of tourists. This, together with the number of tourist rental properties, is one of the factors causing this influence the accessibility of homes on the island. In addition, there is the purchase of second homes, mainly by foreigners, who live in them for only a few months and later use them as a form of business. Likewise, the sheer number of vacant businesses on the island and the vulture funds that push working people out of their homes and prevent them from accessing them also play a role.
From traffic on the island to environmental issues, what impacts would the project have?
Accommodation of employees on the cruise It is not an easy solution to implement.. Firstly, because the capacity of the Botafoc Dam to accommodate crossings, cargo ships and ferries is very limited. The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB), the Consell de Ibiza and the capital's municipal council reached a consensus establishing only two cruise ships per day and a limit of 3,000 cruise passengers. In this way, the aim was to “avoid traffic jams and lack of means of land transport”. This rule was only introduced in the month of May, although work on it started in the summer of 2023, so it remains to be seen how this will affect the port.
The workers' cruise ship project would force the Balearic Islands to reconsider the application of these restrictions, as a cruise ship would already be docked there permanent in the port of Ibiza, in the absence of the APB taking a position on this issue.
To this we must add consequences for the environment and the landscape of the cruise ship's permanent berth. In addition to the problems caused by the size of the ships, they also leave a significant ecological footprint. In particular, an infrastructure plan that, among other things, ensures efficient waste management, energy management to maintain activities, and noise or gas emissions should be taken into account.
Moreover, the harbor is located in front of the city, very close to Talamanca beach. It contains the Posidonia meadows, which have a high ecological value because they constitute the “most important, complex and widespread” marine ecosystem in the Mediterranean, as described by the State Secretary for the Environment. They have been suffering for years under unsustainable pressure due to maritime traffic and waste generated in Ibiza.