Sant Adrià de Besòs has launched a strategic plan, Sant Adrià, capital del Besòs: A look towards the future, setting out six major projects to reshape the town by 2031. The presentation took place on 28 May in the turbine hall of the Tres Chimeneas, with Mayor Filo Cañete leading the event and Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni among those attending.
Cañete said Sant Adrià is at a moment of historic change and is reclaiming its role as a metropolitan centre. The plan is built around a “Triangle of Innovation”, with three main areas: the University City for energy and engineering, the Productive City, and the Digital City for audiovisual and design work.
The first project is the UPC Diagonal-Besòs campus, which aims to strengthen the university and technology hub and support research, innovation and links between universities and business. The second is Mina Futur, a full urban and social transformation of La Mina, with new public facilities, more social housing for young people, social programmes and the demolition of the Venus building.
The third project, known as Operation Inditex, will bring the headquarters of Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho and Lefties to the coastal area. It also includes re-urbanisation and decontamination of the land, with the plan expected to create more than 2,000 jobs.
Two further projects focus on the seafront and local innovation. Les Tres Chimeneas and Catalunya Media City will create a digital, audiovisual and creative hub, with more than 10 hectares of metropolitan parkland, over 700 public homes, a new creative and cultural centre, and work scheduled for 2025 to 2030. Can Rigalt will host an urban innovation laboratory aimed at economic and social development and reducing the digital divide, with work planned for 2026 to 2028.
The final project is the Cardboard Factory, in the Pollancreda area, where more than 140 homes are planned, at least half of them officially protected housing. New facilities and re-urbanisation are also included, with the work due between 2026 and 2031. For more local coverage, see our news page.
Collboni’s attendance underlined Barcelona’s support for investment along the Besòs axis. The area has long faced underinvestment, but the plan aims to place Sant Adrià at the centre of Catalonia’s digital economy, with the Tres Chimeneas and the arrival of Inditex as key parts of that shift.
