Marbella - New Port

The new Marbella Port Al-Thani will be finished in 2015.

Over the next few years, Marbella's fishing port, La Bajadilla, will be transformed into a new sleek, high-tech marina, aiming squarely at the very top end of the market. It will considerably expand the capacity of the existing port, allowing more, and larger, luxury cruise-liners, as well as private yachts, to dock at the glamorous seaside town, favourite of celebs the world over.

Qatari Sheik, Abdullah Ben Nasser Al-Thani, who is also owner of Málaga Football Club, is to invest 400 million euros in the new port. The project features a circular pier with a 200-metre quay for cruise liners, a five-star hotel on the marina, as well as bars, restaurants, shops and supermarkets. All of this will revamp the eastern area of the city, bringing La Bajadilla in line with famous Puerto Banus in the west.

The project is being called the most important urban development in Marbella's history. Port Al-Thani, situated at the north-eastern entrance to the town, will more than double Al Bajadilla's current capacity. The marina will accommodate 860 boats, of varying sizes from 175-metre mega-yachts to smaller boats, while a 200-metre pier in the outer part of the marina, connecting directly with the inner harbour (see video, below), will allow three liners to dock and put passengers ashore in Marbella. The port will also have parking for more than 1,000 cars. Puerto Banus, currently one of the most fashionable ports in southern Spain, will be just the other side of town, with the equally desirable but more discreet Sotogrande, further west along the coast.