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FREE PORT OF BILBAO 
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Prohibited operations.—At the present time all operations except 
those specified in the preceding paragraph are prohibited. 
Dispatch in unloading or discharge of wvessels.—Under present 
*onditions, there is no difference in discharging rates between the 
ree port and the customs port of Bilbao. 
As a matter of fact, certain unloading operations are hampered 
rather than assisted. For instance vessels with entire cargoes 
destined for the free port, may land alongside and discharge directly 
nto the warehouses there, but a vessel with a mixed cargo part of 
which is intended to be placed in the depésito franco and part of which 
is to be entered directly, may not land at the free-port wharf but 
Must proceed to the customs port, from whence all that part of the 
targo destined for the free port has to be transported in barges, often 
‘he lighterage charge necessary to place it in the port being sufficient 
“0 cover the customs duties. No comparison can be made with 
other customs ports in Spain, as the consulate has no data concerning 
the facilities for discharging at other places. 
Reconsignment trade.—Practically no reconsignment trade exists, 
“xcept on petroleum products which are now administered by the 
Petroleum monopoly which uses the installation at Bilbao as a staple 
deposit for various other districts along this coast. Inasmuch as 
both the income and outgo of the depésito franco are controlled or 
inder the supervision of the local customs inspection, operations 
ire still not as free as they might be. 
Transshipment trade—The same remarks apply to the transship- 
Tent trade as to the reconsignment trade mentioned above. At 
bresent practically none is carried on. 
Manufacturing in the free zone—As yet no factories have been 
*stablished in the free zone owing to the limitation of operations 
Permitted as covered by paragraph 4 above. Whether manufacturing 
#ill be permitted later on is doubtful, owing to the opposition previ- 
usly mentioned, developed by interior cities and by industrial 
Nterests in Bilbao itself. 
Shipbuilding and ship repair in free zone.—No facilities exist for 
Such operations. 
Influence of free port on development of foreign trade.—According 
lo the statements of a director of the free port, it has been practically 
il up to the present. 
Influence of free port on development of merchant marine.—See re- 
Narks under paragraph above. 
 Statistics—The quantity and value of foreign goods received in 
he free zone for the year 1927 was 17,534 tons, which, as will be 
"alized, is not particularly great traffic. This consisted almost 
“tirely of bulk grains, dried codfish, or similar dried foodstuffs, and 
Aitomobiles.