Meeting of the Management Commission ad the Contracting Board of Zorrotzaurre

Today saw the meetings of the Zorrotzaurre Management Commission and the Zorrotzaurre Contracting Board in Bilbao.

The meeting of the Management Commission was held one year after Juan Mari Aburto, Mayor of Bilbao, was named as chairman in substitution of Ibon Areso. Angel Toña, Minister for Employment and Social Policy of the Basque Government was also present.

During the meeting, and beyond the analysis of the regular matters, the Mayor explained the balance of activity for the last year on the Zorrotzaurre plan, which suffered the loss, in March, of the author of the Master Plan, the anglo-iraqui architect, Zaha Hadid.

The main milestones in this period were:

• Definitive approval of the Plot Reorganisation Project on 16.12.15, after which the City Hall issued the corresponding certificate for the Property Register for the new plots resulting from the Reorganisation Project.
• Payment of most of the amounts of compensation due to companies who have to leave the area and to the private owners who are giving up their plots.
• Drawing up of the Urbanization Project of Execution Unit 1, approval of which by the Bilbao City Hall is imminent.
• Inauguration of the the Frank Gehry bridge which joins Zorrotzaurre to Deusto for pedestians and vehicles.
• Presentation of the design of the bridge which will join San Ignacio to Zorrotzaurre. The design was drawn up by LKS Ingeniería and Visesa will provide the finance for construction.
• Start up of the first new homes development by Jaureguizar on two plots in San Ignacio and one in Deusto where 112 social housing units, 117 price-controlled units and 131 privately developed units will be built.
• Call for tenders for the informative study for the tram extension from Bilbao to Zorrotzaurre by ETS which was won by the engineering firm Typsa.
• Further demolition of unused buildings, such as the 5 Mefesa buildings and, currently, the partial demolition of the Agemasa building.

The Mayor has also proposed that during the next year, those works underway will be continued so as to finalise the new inscripction of the plots created under the Reorganisation Project in the Property Register, give definitive approval to the Urbanisation Project and continue the demolitions and the environmental studies on soil contamination.

• The Mayor also highlighted the 3 major milestones for Zorrotzaurre in the coming year:
• Call for tenders for the construction of the San Ignacio bridge by Visesa.
• Call for tenders for the urbanisation of the right bank of the Deusto canal (San Ignacio) by the Contracting Board.
• The beginning of construction work on the first new homes in San Ignacio and Deusto by the developer Jaureguizar.