The Catalan capital will receive more than 10.6 billion euros in public investment until 2035. This figure, which takes into account future contributions from all administrations, will allow the development of projects that will act on 5.5 million square meters, equivalent to three-quarters of the Eixample, and will create nearly 175,000 jobs.
"The most important public investment since the 1992 Olympic Games is being mobilized," said the mayor, Jaume Collboni, at the meeting L'alcalde respon, organized annually by the Col·legi de Periodistes de Catalunya. "Barcelona is immersed in the most important transformation of the first half of the 21st century, without the need for a major transformative event," defended Collboni, who declared that this metropolitan transformation will be of a magnitude equivalent to that generated by the Exhibitions of 1888 and 1929 and the Olympics. In fact, Collboni detailed that the Olympic Games involved a public and private investment equivalent to 13.5 billion current euros.
This transformation of the city is focused on six vectors, according to Collboni, starting with infrastructure and sustainable mobility, with investments and works in the central section of the L9, as well as in the connection of the L8 of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC). Also included in this area are investments in the stations of La Sagrera and Sants, and also in the Port de Barcelona and its railway accesses.
As a second vector, the Catalan capital is advancing in a transformation of growth areas of the local economy, with investments in projects such as the reform of Fira de Barcelona both in its Gran Via venue and in that of Montjuïc and the transformation of the northern area of 22@. The mayor also places talent and science as one of the main areas of transformation, with the development of the Ciutadella del Coneixement as an emblem and accelerator to recover spaces such as the Hivernacle and the Centre Martorell d'Exposicions.
The health sector is also one of those with relevant projects underway for the Catalan capital, among which the new Hospital Clínic stands out. The changes the city will experience in the coming years will also be closely linked to sport, especially due to the America's Cup, which will leave a legacy in the form of an economic impact of 1.2 billion euros and 19,000 jobs, and in the form of urban transformation in areas such as the Port Vell and the Port Olímpic. Culture will also be another of the vectors that will star in the projects and investments that will mark the future of the city, with initiatives such as the future Central Library, next to Estació de França, and with proposals such as the direct connection of the Glòries Metro stop on L1 with the Disseny Hub.
Within this period until 2035, the City Council projects a Municipal Investment Plan (PIM) until 2027 with 2.829 billion euros, with 1 billion for actions in public spaces, and 800 million destined for facilities. This investment plan includes projects such as the recovery of disused spaces equivalent to 32 blocks of the Eixample, as well as the reform of Avenida Meridiana up to Fabra i Puig, that of Calle Balmes and that of Paseo de la Mar Bella, according to Collboni, who has shown himself convinced that Barcelona will have Budgets and that they will be approved on March 22.
Regarding facilities, the City Council wants to launch four libraries, three nurseries and six sports centers by 2027. In addition, it sets as an objective during this mandate to remodel four municipal markets and materialize the recovery of the Teatre Arnau, as explained by the mayor, who has also marked housing as a priority. In addition, he has specified his recipe for consolidating Barcelona as a business hub in southern Europe: to generate a favorable environment for economic activity, and to offer spaces where companies and investments can be located, such as AstraZeneca and the Estel Building: "We have to enable the landing strips so that companies can come to the city."