A thousand migrants, 40 tents and a political standoff: Ceuta's new camp takes shape

A new camp for 1,000 migrants is being set up in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, complete with basic services and air conditioning, but its location has sparked a fierce political dispute between the central government and the Port Authority.

## A rush job on the quay

On a strip of reclaimed land from the 1980s, **Tragsa** is racing to assemble a camp that will house around **1,000 people**. It consists of **forty tents** being fitted out with essential services such as running water, electricity and even air conditioning. The urgency is palpable among the workers, toiling under the **Ceuta** sun and well aware of the heat to come. The chosen site, on the Poniente quay, sits strategically among industrial facilities, including an **Endesa** power plant and **Ducar** fuel storage tanks.

## Administrative standoff

Setting up the camp has not been without tension. The Board of the **Port Authority of Ceuta** voted against ceding the land, with **eleven votes against** and four in favour. The decision laid bare the deep divisions between administrations over how to handle the migration emergency. Despite this rejection, Spain's **central government**, through Transport Minister **Óscar Puente**, authorised the temporary occupation of **16,000 square metres** of the port service area.

## Public interest or political veto

The government justifies its decision on grounds of "public interest", arguing that the area in question is already open to public use. The measure, based on Article 73.3 of the State Ports and Merchant Marine Act, allows the temporary occupation of port land in exceptional circumstances. The tents, already displaying signs reading "Psychological care" and "Paediatrics", have emerged amid controversy, underscoring how complex it is to tackle the migration situation in the autonomous city.