The European Investment Bank (EIB) will grant a loan of 110 million to the company Fira 2000, which will use these resources to finance part of the expansion of the Gran Vía venue of Fira de Barcelona, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
The operation, which will have a guarantee from the Generalitat, was already foreseen in the financial project signed in 2019 by the six institutions that make up Fira 2000 (the Generalitat, the city councils of Barcelona and L'Hospitalet, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce). To formalize it, the Minister of Economy of the Generalitat, Jaume Giró, met this Wednesday with the Vice-President of the EIB, Ricardo Mourinho.
The Gran Via expansion plan is included in a broader reorganization and planning of all Fira de Barcelona exhibition spaces, which will involve a total investment of 367 million, 234 of them destined for the expansion of the Gran Via venue and 133 million for the remodeling of the Montjuïc venue. For the entire complex, in addition to the 110 million signed with the EIB, the company Fira 2000 will resort to external debt, such as bank financing, as well as a possible second loan with the EIB.
Likewise, the Generalitat and the city councils of Barcelona and L'Hospitalet will negotiate with the European Union the possibility of obtaining 30 million euros from European funds.
The calendar for all the actions will have a duration of six years (2023-2029). The initial forecast is that the works in the area adjacent to the current Gran Via venue --to carry out the project designed by architect Toyo Ito-- will begin in 2023 and could be completed in 2026. This largely depends on Fira de Barcelona being able to offer exhibition continuity to the major events that mark its international reputation, such as the Mobile World Congress, Alimentaria, the audiovisual show ISE or Seafood, among others.
Meanwhile, regarding the remodeling of the Montjuïc areas annexed to Avenida Maria Cristina, the Barcelona City Council, within the agreement it reached with Fira de Barcelona, foresees that they will be completed in 2029, coinciding with the centenary of the 1929 Universal Exhibition.