The Government will allow rural construction under the pretext of carrying out strategic projects.

PalmThe Catalan government approved this Friday a decree-law of urgent measures to accelerate strategic projects that, in turn, will allow "construction work on rural land even if it is not included in urban planning." This was explained by the First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Finance, and Innovation, Antoni Costa, who clarified that this concession will only be granted to projects declared to be of general interest, as they are related to the water cycle, energy efficiency, and waste treatment.

Costa stated that both private and public developers will be able to submit their projects to request this declaration. In this sense, the decree-law aims "to ensure that investments are developed as quickly as possible" when they are of general interest. Thus, he explained that the law "will allow projects that currently cannot be implemented to be carried out."

In parallel, the law includes an additional provision to establish a moratorium on the installation of photovoltaic parks on rural land, an issue that MÁS por Mallorca had raised. Costa announced this initiative after President Marga Prohens presented the creation of the Strategic Project Accelerator Unit (UAPE) on Wednesday. Once a project is declared of strategic interest, investors will be able to reduce their application process by half.

In this regard, the UAPE will act as a one-stop shop for private developers, centralizing the process and offering assistance from the administration throughout the process. Its main function will be to analyze applications for declaration as a Project of Special Strategic Interest (PEIE) within a maximum period of two months. "We don't want any transformative investment project willing to come to the Islands that doesn't come due to bureaucratic reasons," he asserted.