Residents associations are demanding that the Balearic Ports Authority does not go ahead with putting the management of the El Molinar port out to tender once the authority has completed redevelopment work. They are insisting that the management stays with the Club Marítimo Molinar de Levante, which was founded in 1917.
A letter has been sent to the ports authority, the regional government, the Council of Majorca and Palma town hall. It expresses the wish that the club continues with the same line of work that has been carried out until now. The club "is one hundred years old and it has always promoted Majorca's maritime traditions, such as the profession of the master shipwright, which is being taught to new generations so that it cannot be lost".
If there is a tender, the fear is that the club will not be able to compete against large companies fighting to take over the management of marinas. El Molinar, it is being stressed, "grew with the Club Náutico Portixol and the Club Marítimo Molinar de Levante, so is therefore part of the history, heritage and idiosyncrasy of the area".
The tender specifications for the management of the port were agreed by the ports authority's board last month. It will be for a maximum of twenty years. The Club Marítimo Molinar de Levante ceased to be the concessionaire in March last year. The residents associations' demand has the backing of the Balearic Association of Nautical Clubs, which fears for the future of a club "whose social function and promotion of nautical sports has been outstanding".