The Mexican firm ITM Group has secured a 25‑year concession with the Port Authority of Melilla to construct a cruise passenger terminal alongside the Mineral Loading Dock and to refurbish ten adjoining commercial premises at Noray Marina. The company intends to invest approximately EUR 1.8 million in these maritime developments following a strategic assessment that deemed the project aligned with its growth objectives.
Based in Cancún, the family‑owned ITM Group brings over three decades of port management experience and half a century in infrastructure development. Its regional portfolio spans prominent Caribbean cruise facilities such as Costa Maya (Mexico), Taino Bay (Dominican Republic), Port Roatán (Honduras), and Port Cabo Rojo in southern Dominican Republic.
Melilla’s Port Authority chair, Manuel Ángel Quevedo, described the project as transformative, noting that many of the marina’s commercial spaces have remained unused for decades and that their refurbishment is expected to generate employment and revenue. He emphasised that the passenger control building will occupy a small adjacent site carefully designed to avoid casting shadows over the historic loading dock, itself a protected cultural heritage asset.
Legally, the venture required resolution of an operator exclusivity that since 2010 had granted ETM sole rights over passenger services in Melilla. Under the new arrangement, ETM will transfer its rights exclusively pertaining to cruise traffic at the Mineral Dock—and on an exceptional basis at the Northeast‑2 and Northeast‑3 docks for larger vessels—to ITM’s subsidiary MDT for this project.
The concession covers approximately 1,465.95 m² across the ten commercial units and an additional 463 m² designated for the passenger terminal building. Work is expected to begin later in the current year, with completion anticipated by summer 2026.
In its initial phase, the project will refurbish long-unused premises to accommodate restaurants, souvenir shops, and basic passenger services. The new control terminal is planned as a modest, one-storey structure adjacent to the historic dock, emphasized as being designed with sensitivity to the heritage site and the marina’s maritime character.
With Melilla’s cruise traffic rising—from some 4,000 passengers in 2023 to an expected 9,000 in 2024—the Port Authority projects substantial growth: over 80,000 annual cruise visitors by 2027, escalating to 150,000 by 2030, alongside a fleet capable of handling more than 130 cruise calls (compared with 12 in the present fleet).
In the immediately upcoming weeks, ITM Group executives including the Vice President and commercial managers will visit Melilla to coordinate planning for ancillary activities to serve cruise passengers on arrival, reinforcing Melilla’s bid to market its European heritage and local culture to an international audience.
This initiative marks a notable chapter in Melilla’s maritime strategy: the revival of underutilized harbour infrastructure and the establishment of a purpose-built cruise terminal designed to elevate the city’s profile within Mediterranean cruise itineraries.