Today Zorrotzaurre Island was born

Today at 13:30, Deusto canal was opened, converting what had hitherto been a peninsula into an island. The canal opening ceremony was chaired by the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, who was accompanied by the Head of the Regional Government Department of the Environment, Territorial Planning and Housing, Iñaki Arriola, amongst other eminent figures.

There are still some months of operations ahead until the building works are fully completed (opening the entire width of the canal, dredging the canal bed and full execution of the quays), which are estimated to be finished in early 2019.

The works to open Deusto canal began in 1950, but were interrupted eighteen years later due to the high cost stemming from the technical complexity that the operation then represented. That was how the Zorrotzaurre peninsula came into being.

The decision to conclude the opening of Deusto canal was taken ten years later based on a number of different hydraulic surveys that indicated that the opening was necessary to minimise the risk of flooding in Bilbao.

The works to open the canal, which also included construction of the Frank Gehry Bridge, began in May 2014.