This is what the new fortress of Son Sant Joan will look like: an armored warehouse worth 1.8 million euros

PalmThe Ministry of Defense will build a new strategic materials storage facility at Son Sant Joan Air Base with a base budget of approximately €1.8 million. The project, promoted by the Air Force and Space Logistics Support Command, is included in the 2025 Infrastructure Action Plan and will be located in an undeveloped area in the southeast of the military base. This Thursday, during the Palma City Council plenary session, residents of the Casa Blanca neighborhood, located between Sant Jordi and Palma Airport, expressed their opposition to the construction of this facility due to its proximity to their community. The residents, echoing the concerns raised by the Balearic Workers' Union (UOB) on Wednesday, believe it poses a risk to the neighborhood and the Casa Blanca school.

The bunker will follow the design of an 'igloo' type depot, engineered to withstand explosions of up to seven bars of pressure. It has a reinforced concrete structure measuring 27 meters long, 9.10 meters wide, and 4.5 meters high. Its purpose is to house ammunition and sensitive materials under maximum security conditions, with a capacity of 75 tons of ammunition.

The structure will be buried 60 centimeters below ground level to protect it from potential impacts and to minimize the effects of any explosion. It will also feature a drainage system, natural ventilation, explosion detectors, fire detection systems, exterior LED lighting, and a CCTV security camera system integrated with the base's central system and thermal imaging capabilities.

The project also includes the site development, with a 2.4-meter-high perimeter fence topped with barbed wire, an asphalt access road, and a loading and unloading area with rigid pavement.

"Nobody warned us"

The representative of the Casa Blanca Residents' Association, Pedro Sansó, explained to ARA Baleares that the bunker is located just one kilometer from the town center and that, for this reason, they attended the Cort plenary session. "Nobody had warned us about it," he criticized. He added that, although the project report indicates that the storage facility can hold up to 75 tons of material, only three tons would be used. Sansó finds this discrepancy "strange." "Why are they preparing it for 75 tons?" he asked. He also emphasized that the planned security measures were calculated only for a capacity of three tons, and not for the maximum the facility could potentially hold. "If that capacity were exceeded at any point, what would happen to the security measures? We've gone from surprise to feeling helpless," he lamented.

"There is no danger"

For his part, Colonel Carlos de Montemayor, head of the Son San Juan Air Base, assured this Thursday that "there is no danger to any civilian" or to the military personnel themselves from the new weapons depot that will be set up at the facility. At the presentation of the activities for the base's 75th anniversary, the colonel commented that "perhaps the information that has been circulating was not accurate" and emphasized that the ammunition depot "will never affect any civilian structure, not even the personnel working at the base."

"A warehouse will be built to store weapons and ammunition, all in accordance with regulations and safety parameters," added the base commander, who emphasized that the material stored in the depot will be for the base's daily use, and "some in case it needs to be used in exceptional circumstances."

Avoid transfers

In statements reported by EFE, he clarified that the creation of the equipment depot is solely to avoid having to transport it from Puntiró or the mainland if necessary. De Montemayor explained that the construction of the warehouse is only one part of a project that dates back several years, and that the investment in Son Sant Joan will also serve to improve other facilities such as the military residences.