The Tenerife Cabildo is preparing to approve the ‘El Chorrillo Industrial’ Project of Insular Interest, a major plan to reorganise and urbanise the industrial area in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The project will involve an investment of €12.64 million in urban development works, with the work expected to take around 26 months.
The aim is to provide the infrastructure needed to fully urbanise the area while improving its connections with the surrounding economic and urban areas.
A strategic industrial area
Isabel de Esteban, the island’s director of Territorial Planning, Landscape and Historical Heritage, said the project is about more than simply developing an industrial estate.
The intention is to organise a strategically located area that can accommodate important infrastructure while improving connections with other economic centres across the metropolitan area.
The Cabildo will also meet with the Urban Planning Department of Santa Cruz to help ensure the project is implemented effectively.
Environmental protection, accessibility and heritage conservation have all been incorporated into the plans.
New roads and better connections
The project will establish a new road network and designate areas for industrial use.
One of the priorities is improving connections with the Cuevas Blancas Scientific and Technological Park and the San Isidro Industrial Estate.
The area’s challenging terrain also needs to be taken into account. Some parts have elevations of more than 50 metres, meaning the development will require significant earthworks.
A long road is planned as part of the solution, helping to manage the movement of earth during the construction process.
Major infrastructure planned
The development is also expected to accommodate several strategic pieces of infrastructure.
These include a regional wastewater treatment plant (EDAR), an expanded waste transfer station and the completion of the medium-voltage electrical ring in the southwest.
The urbanisation works will depend on the completion of the necessary energy infrastructure, including a substation connected to the Candelaria-Geneto line.
Environmental and heritage protection
The project has already passed two environmental assessments, with sustainability and heritage protection forming part of the planning process.
Archaeological monitoring will also continue during earthworks close to the Lomo Gordo archaeological site, an area with recognised cultural significance.
So while there is plenty of concrete, roads and industrial infrastructure involved, the project also comes with a requirement to keep an eye on what is underneath it.
Creating more industrial land in Santa Cruz
Once approved, the project will establish the framework for transforming and urbanising an area primarily intended for industrial activity.
The broader objective is to increase the amount of land available for productive uses in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, while improving connections and providing the infrastructure needed for future development.