Final agreement between the CZFB and Mercabarna to expand the food hub

Barcelona unblocks one of its projects with the greatest potential for generating economic impact. After long years of negotiations, Mercabarna and the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) have reached an agreement to formalize a sale and purchase operation that will allow the expansion of the most important food complex in Southern Europe.

The central Barcelona market for fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat has been suffering from a significant shortage of land for years, and many operators are interested in setting up in the complex or expanding their facilities. For Mercabarna's managers, the expansion of the site has long been a top priority, not only to meet this latent demand that may currently exist but also to plan its future ten years ahead and adapt to the changes and new demands of the agri-food business.

To gain space, in recent years, Mercabarna has managed to free up some plots, an operation that has allowed, for example, the construction of the Biomarket, a central market dedicated exclusively to the sale of organic products. This facility, inaugurated less than a year ago, was built in the space occupied by the old Makro store. But to substantially increase the available area, Mercabarna needed to acquire new land, but due to its location, between the Ronda Litoral and the Llobregat riverbed, growth could only occur to the east, on land owned by the CZFB, located in the part of the market facing the sea.

Despite being two public administrations, negotiations have been long, as both entities have had to defend their interests and agree on the sale price. Another complication is that part of the plots that Mercabarna intends to acquire, between F, E streets and street 4 of the Zona Franca industrial estate, are currently occupied by other companies that will now have to be relocated. One of those affected is Molenbergnatie, one of the world leaders in green coffee trade and storage.

The expected expansion project began to get unstuck on November 25, 2020, when the CZFB ---dependent on the State--- approved the initiation of procedures to make a 150,000 square meter plot available to the central market. Last August, in an interview with The New Barcelona Post, the special delegate of the State in the CZFB, Pere Navarro, already announced that the agreement with Mercabarna was "imminent". "Yes, we have it approved and now we are closing the loose ends of the agreement. It is not an easy matter, as we are two public institutions that have to defend our interests. We want to have the numbers very clear and agree on a sale price for the land that is fair for them and for us. We are almost in agreement and about to close the matter. We think that it can be made effective immediately," Navarro said.

The agreement is now a reality and on Monday the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, who is also president of the CZFB plenary, plans to announce the details of the expansion project and the pact reached between the two institutions. Pere Navarro, the first deputy mayor of the council, Jaume Collboni, and the councilor for Commerce and Markets, Montserrat Ballarín, who is the president of Mercabarna, will also attend the event. Jordi Valls, who assumed the general management of Mercabarna a year ago, has been actively involved in the final stretch of negotiations.

50.69% of Mercabarna's shares belong to the Barcelona City Council. The state public company Mercasa owns 36.79% and the Generalitat controls the remaining 12.16%, a stake recently inherited from the former Consell Comarcal del Barcelonès. The Mercabarna complex, founded more than 50 years ago, currently occupies 90 hectares and has more than 700 companies and 7,500 workers.