The CZFB approves initiating the sale of land for the expansion of Mercabarna

The lack of space has been Mercabarna's main problem for many years. The concessionary companies established in the central market of Barcelona have long been demanding more square meters to expand their facilities, and there is also a waiting list of marketing and food processing companies that want to establish themselves in the complex, considered the largest wholesale center in Europe for the sale of fruits, vegetables, and fish.

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Although at one point the possibility of moving the food hub out of the Zona Franca industrial estate was considered, Mercabarna's great priority has been to gain ground in its current location, where growth is limited by the Llobregat riverbed and the Nissan factory. The objective has focused on being able to expand the complex into adjoining plots owned by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) and located on the eastern side of the enclosure, closest to the sea.

After years of negotiations, finally, the operation now has the green light to begin materializing. As The New Barcelona Post has learned, the plenary council of the CZFB approved on November 25 the initiation of procedures to transfer 150,000 square meters of land to Mercabarna to enable its expansion and thus contribute to the generation of greater economic activity and new jobs. The proposal was unanimously approved by all members of the plenary, as only one abstention was recorded.

The CZFB plenary is chaired by Mayor Ada Colau and is made up of a total of 22 representatives from the Barcelona City Council, the State, the Port of Barcelona, the Chamber of Commerce, Fomento del Trabajo, Renfe, UGT, and CCOO. The municipal groups of Barcelona en Comú, PSC, ERC, Junts per Catalunya, C's, PP, and BCN pel Canvi are represented. In addition to the special delegate of the State in the CZFB, Pere Navarro, who is the vice president, the Secretaries of State for Commerce and for Budgets and Expenditures, as well as the Undersecretary of Finance and the Secretary General of Transport, represent the Government in the plenary.

"This plot is the only one through which Mercabarna can grow; the plenary has unanimously supported this operation to contribute to generating more wealth and employment in Barcelona," explain the consulted sources. Now, the project is in the hands of the legal services of both institutions, which must initiate the formal procedures and finalize aspects of the negotiation such as the amount and the deadlines to materialize the expansion. One of the doubts that has not yet been cleared is what legal formula the operation will adopt, whether it is a sale, a lease, or a long-term right of use.

The fifteen hectares that Mercabarna will gain are located between streets F, E, and street 4 of the Zona Franca industrial estate. According to the same sources, the operation will affect the industrial warehouses occupied by the company Molenbergnatie, which will have to relocate to another site. This Belgian company is one of the world leaders in the trade and storage of green coffee.

The PSC-PSOE connection

The agreement comes two months after Mercabarna appointed Jordi Valls as general director. Although in the last decade he has worked as a senior executive for the Agbar Group (Suez) in Chile and Mexico, Valls is a veteran former politician of the PSC, the same party of which the State delegate in the CZFB, Pere Navarro, was first secretary. Montserrat Ballarín, the president of Mercabarna, is also from the PSC, where the socialist government of Pedro Sánchez controls close to 40% of the capital through the public company Mercasa.

The Mercabarna complex, founded more than 50 years ago, currently occupies 90 hectares and has more than 700 companies and 7,500 workers. It is made up of the central fish market, the fruit and vegetable market, and a Complementary Activities Zone (ZAC) with companies dedicated to the production of processed and semi-processed foods for the hospitality sector. There is also a meat section and a slaughterhouse that was definitively closed last October due to being unprofitable. Mercabarna must now decide what to do with the 27,362 square meter plot that has been freed up. Three years ago, the central market also managed to scrape together available surface area by promoting the relocation of the Makro hypermarket outside its premises. On the land gained, the new organic food market, which has just been inaugurated, and the new production and logistics facilities of the General Càrnia company have been built.

Mercabarna presented on Thursday a pilot plan for the introduction of 5G technology applied to the reduction of accidents and improvement of the safety of the 23,000 people who pass through the complex daily.