The Bilbao Port Authority will form part of the extensive business delegation set to accompany the Basque Government on its trade mission to India, the world’s fourth-largest economy and second most-populated nation, with close to 1.2 billion people. The delegation, headed by Basque president Patxi López, will visit Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Bangalore from 19 to 23 March.
The latest official figures released by Puertos del Estado, referring to 2010, put Bilbao at the top of Spanish ports in traffic with India, ahead of the Mediterranean ports of Barcelona and Valencia.
Pending the 2011 overall results in all Spanish ports, Bilbao closed the year with a traffic of 462,000 tonnes with India, of which 83% were imports. India was the fastest-growing country in conventional freight in percentage terms (up 235%) and second in absolute terms (98,000 tonnes).
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Dredging Today Staff, March 20, 2012;