Lleida is the starting point for a new phase in the Urgell Canal modernisation, after the Catalan government and the canal board agreed to move ahead on a voluntary basis. Farming communities will be able to decide when to join, instead of waiting for full agreement across the whole system.
The first projects are expected to be ready by 2028 and will cover about 12,000 hectares across 14 municipalities in the Noguera, Urgell, Garrigues, Pla d'Urgell and Segrià areas. The change follows the decision in December to postpone indefinitely a vote on a three-way funding agreement between the government, the state and farmers.
Minister for Agriculture Òscar Ordeig said participation will be voluntary, and farmers who do not want to modernise their land will not be forced to do so. He said they can continue using traditional flood irrigation. Amadeu Ros, president of the irrigators' community, said those who opt in will not affect the others.
The new approach replaces the earlier plan for an integral modernisation of the whole Urgell Canal at once. Instead, work will advance community by community, where there is local demand for more efficient irrigation. The governing board has also confirmed that on-farm water pressure systems will only be installed where farmers request them, and the previous five-year deadline for that work has been removed.
The financial terms remain those set out in December 2025, at €2,311 per hectare, financed over 30 years with a two-year grace period, which works out at about €120 per hectare a year. Two formal requests have already been received, covering four communities. One project has more than 80% support and covers about 5,055 hectares in seven municipalities in Noguera and Urgell, including Agramunt, Preixens, Montgai, Cubells, La Sentiu de Sió, Camarasa and Balaguer.
A second project has 50% support and covers 5,754 hectares in seven municipalities across Les Garrigues, Pla d'Urgell and Segrià, including Les Borges Blanques, Juneda, Arbeca and Castelldans. The government and farmers will also look at land consolidation options across the Urgell Canal area, adapted to local conditions. The canal is Catalonia's oldest and most extensive irrigation system, covering more than 70,000 hectares, and in September 2025 the government presented a 15-year modernisation plan with a budget of €1 billion.