Tag: wetlands

4 April 2016 – El Confidencial

Arpegio, the Community of Madrid’s public land management company, may receive a cash inflow this year if it manages to finalise the sale of a plot of land measuring 100,000 m2 that it owns in the town of Meco, just next to Inditex’s large logistics centre in the region. The land would be an ideal site for the Galician company to expand its facilities and Arpegio wants to generate profits from the plot, and whereby benefit from the investor boom surrounding such assets. Sources at the regional Government say that Inditex has expressed an interest in taking over the land, but Arpegio needs to resolve certain environmental problems that arose in this area precisely when Inditex first opened its centre there (in April 2007) and the R-2 highway was constructed, and a wetland area was created, which is now home to thousands of birds of 165 different species, many of which are protected.

Whilst the regional Government led by Cristina Cifuentes has been working to auction off this plot, the Town Hall of Meco is planning to amend the partial plan for the SUS-AE1 sector in May, required to protect the wetland and change the classification of this land, which is currently industrial. Inditex has declined to confirm or deny whether it is interested in the land, which according to market sources, could be sold for between €100 million and €120 million. Meanwhile, the fund Gazelly has already taken steps to try to buy another 300,000 m2 plot next to the land owned by Inditex, which also sits alongside the wetlands, although real estate sources say that this vehicle is acting on behalf of a third party. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake