Public-private partnership to redevelop the Zorrotzaurre district - Bilbao

In order to fund the transformation of Bilbao’s ‘Zorrotzaurre’ district in Spain from a degraded, flood-prone industrial peninsula into a green and attractive area with residential and commercial uses, a public-private partnership (PPP) was established in 2012 between land users of Zorrotzaurre and public actors (Port, City, and Province). To administer the PPP, the ‘Comisión Gestora de Zorrotzaurre’ was founded as a private organization and involves representatives of these actors. The PPP is the financial instrument to fund measures described in the Zorrotzaurre Master Plan, the overarching planning document for the redevlopment of the area. The Plan was designed by architect Zaha Hadid and foresees the conversion of the current Zorrotzaurre peninsula into an island by opening up the Deusto Canal.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Agreement-based or cooperative instrument›Public-private business agreement

Challenges addressed

Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Social equity
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The PPP aims to fund the Zorrotzaurre redevelopment project to turn the industrial site into a flood-proof residential area. The plan covers a total surface of 673 000 m2 and includes flood prevention measures, a transport network, and restoration of the area's cultural heritage. In particular, the Plan foresees (1) opening the Deusto canal, (2) providing a flood protection wall, (3) elevating the ground level by 1,5 meters for new buildings, (4) installing storm water tanks and (5) providing green, public spaces. The latter activity includes the creation of a pedestrian area along the river bank that can also be used as an overflow area. Moreover, a linear park of 40,000 square meters will be constructed in the center of the island. The gardens of Botica Vieja on the other side of the canal were extended and increased in size and connected by two new bridges to the open spaces on the island. In addition, a network of “green fingers” of more than 5.000 square meters is built that extends across the island. These specific targets demonstrate that the redevelopment projects builds on a mix of green and grey infrastructure in order to achieve its overall goal of a flood-protected residential area. With regards to flood protection in Zorrotzaurre, the Plan sets out that existing buildings should be well protected for T=100 rainfall events and new buildings should withstand T=500 events.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Green areas for water management

Derelict areas

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Locally appropriate

Policy business case

Inclusivity

Governance

Non-governmental actor(s)

Initiating body:

Private sector, corporate, business

Details about how the instrument was designed:

Due to the nature of the PPP in this specific case, both private and public actors played a crucial role in the design of the project. Zorrotzaurre residents are excluded from contributing to the project implementation financially but have been involved along with the neighborhood association in the design and development of the plans. One of the outcomes of these discussions was a program by the "Society for Community Restoration" (Surbisa), a municipally owned company, to financially assist existing owners and tenants in restoring their buildings, with particular attention to improving accessibility and energy conservation. In addition, the redevelopment plan was publicly displayed twice, receiving complaints from citizens. As a result of the complaints, a number of changes were made to the original planning concept, such as the decision to preserve a former industrial building on the river bank and transform it into a cultural center.

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Coalition

Details about the implementation:

The ‘Comisión Gestora de Zorrotzaurre’ is a private organization, involving public and private land owners of the neighborhood. Public actors include the port authority, the city of Bilbao as well as the Basque region. The Commission is responsible to advance the work and achieve the plan’s objectives, as well as to resolve problems that may arise during the implementation. The executive decisions are taken by the members of the Management Board, who are representatives of the property owners. The Coordination Board, on the other hand, is responsible for the daily operations and regular reports to the Management Board. Due to the complexity of the project and the challenges faced by the economic crisis which unfolded during its initial phase of implementation, the Master Plan was split into two spatial plans with concrete actions.

How did the government support the instrument?:

The Zorrotzaurre redevelopment project is well integrated into the city of Bilbao's overall policies for urban planning. In 1995, the city launched the ‘Master Plan for Urban Planning in Bilbao’, (updated in 2016) which foresees the land use change of Zorrotzaurre from industrial to residential, with a 50 percent share of social housing and ample public facilities (cultural, educational, recreational). A corresponding ‘Master Plan for Zorrotzaurre’ for the project was developed by prestigous architect Zaha Hadid in 2004 and revised in 2007. In 2012, the Bilbao City Council approved the ‘Master Plan for Zorrotzaurre’. The ‘Master Plan Zorrotzaurre’ objectives are aligned with national and regional adaptation strategies, such as the ‘Spanish Strategy for Climate Change and Clean Energy’ and the ‘Basque Climate Change Strategy 2050’, both incentivizing climate action at local level.

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public regional budget

Public local authority’s budget

Corporate investment

Funds provided by non-governmental organization

Budget:

Above 10 000 000€

Details about instrument financing:

The costs for opening the Deusto canal were budgeted at €20.9 million. The City Council covered these while the Basque regional government in turn agreed to finance the costs of a new bridge. As per agreement with the ‘Comisión Gestora de Zorrotzaurre’, the City Council also payed for the flood protection barrier (€5.1 million) which included the structural rehabilitation of the river bank and the storm water tanks. The costs for further specific redevelopment activities are covered by the ’Comisión Gestora de Zorrotzaurre’, i.e. the private and public owners of the land, according to their share of ownership. These comprise the costs for the ground level elevation and green spaces.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

A financial monitoring is done on a regular basis by the Coordination Board of the ‘Comisión Gestora de Zorrotzaurre’ who reports regularly to the Management Board.

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

As part of the redevelopment, the canal was finished and officially opened on 8 October 2018, making the former peninsula become an island. Two bridges link the resulting island to the mainland: Frank Gehry Bridge, inaugurated in 2015, and San Ignacio Bridge, finished in 2020. A study by Alvarez et al. (2021) concludes that the Plan could contribute to decreasing the heat island effect on Zorrotzaurre through the construction of green and shaded zones. As of July 2022, the implementation of the Plan is not yet finished, with constructions ongoing in residential plots on the island.

Success factors and lessons learned:

In light of the mutual benefits of increased flood protection for both public and private actors of Zorrotzaurre, the PPP provides a suitable financing instrument Interestingly and unlikely in most other cases, the PPP was initiated by the private and not the public sector. Given the limited space and specific geography of the Zorrotzaurre island, the redevelopment project builds on a mix of grey and green infrastructure for flood protection. The inclusion of various stakeholders throughout the design and implementation stages of the project. The Master Plan's envisaged 50 percent share for social housing is important to control adverse gentrification processes on Zorrotzaurre.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Climate Adapt (2016). Public-private partnership for a new flood proof district in Bilbao. Available at: https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/metadata/case-studies/public-private-partnership-for-a-new-flood-proof-district-in-bilbao/#cost_benefit_anchor (Accessed: 21 July 2022).

Zaha Hadid Architects (no date). Zorrozaurre Masterplan. Available at: https://www.zaha-hadid.com/masterplans/zorrozaurre-masterplan/ (Accessed: 21 July 2022).

Network Nature (no date). Bilbao - NBS for dealing with extreme temperature and rainfall events. Available at: https://networknature.eu/casestudy/19442 (Accessed: 21 July 2022).

Alvarez, I.; Quesada-Ganuza, L.; Briz, E.; Garmendia, L. Urban Heat Islands and Thermal Comfort: A Case Study of Zorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6106. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116106

Photos

@N. Martin