191 Global Ports Holding took over Nassau Cruise Port in the Caribbean in 2019 Photo: Global Ports Holding At GPH, we have several green initiatives to honour our sustainability commitment. Our current ports are being transformed and all new port terminals are being constructed to be self-sufficient and using green energy. The new terminal of Tarragona Cruise Port in Spain, which is due for inauguration in June 2024, boasts numerous environmentally friendly technologies, from renewable energy to solutions enabling the efficient management of natural resources. We have also integrated several substantial eco-friendly design elements into our $300 million transformational project at Nassau Cruise Port in The Bahamas, which was inaugurated last May. The port features solar power, LED lighting, and low water usage systems, as well as recycling facilities and processes to remove waste from the harbour waters every day. The port also plans to install shore power connectivity for cruise ships by 2025, in a project led by the country’s minister of energy and transport. As we champion green initiatives, we collaborate closely with local authorities to implement innovative solutions such as LNG adoption and shore power. Valletta Cruise Port is playing a major role as the first port in the Med to provide shore power. We are also completing shore power studies for our Turkish cruise ports, where we will also install solar panels by the end of 2024 that will ensure the terminals are self-sufficient. Our €40 million ($45.5 million) investment into three ports in the Canary Islands has begun, with a sustainable terminal building with solar panels, as well as infrastructure improvement with low carbon-footprint recycled materials at Las Palmas Cruise Port. The concept of environmentally friendly cruising can seem implausible although I believe the industry has taken steps more than any other industry, from automakers to airlines and is on track to be carbon neutral ahead of any transport industry. By working together, we can make the industry cleaner and greener, and we can achieve net carbon-neutral cruising by 2050, possibly even earlier. Mehmet Kutman is chairman and CEO of Global Ports Holding “ By working together, we can make the industry cleaner and greener”
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