Final point: how the failure of a luxury artificial island in Montevideo was conceived

Montevideo: surprise, excitement, fears And… it’s over soon. The first thing was the surprise it gave birth to Announcing a new artificial island in front of one of the most charming areas of the Uruguayan capital. The second is the delusion it has generated in the government, construction companies and workers, who foresaw a massive new project that would absorb those left out of work upon completion of the third core plant and the new central railway. The third is the architects’ organization’s concern about inconveniences in ongoing regional and environmental planning.

And then, a solid answer that indicates an end point for Project ‘MVD 360; The Municipal Government of Montevideo (IMM) has announced that it will not grant the necessary permits for this work.

The project was presented in the system private initiativewhich implies a business proposal, which, when accepted, goes through a bidding process, in which the author of the idea has an advantage over the competition of bidders.

Opposite Punta Gorda, halfway between the traditional Pocitos and the residential Carrasco, is one of the most attractive areas of Montevideo Bay, there is an investment group aimed at generating An island connected by a bridge with many tall buildings, a yacht harbor terminal, sports areas and public parks.

“It will act as a black hole all over Montevideo”, said the Prime Minister of Montevideo, Carolina Cos, when asked about the rejection of that body. A week after the project was announced, the Montevideo administration stated that the feasibility of the special project had been rejected The artificial island of 36 hectares.

Now how’s it going? Without the approval of the Montevideo government, it does not matter that you get the approval of the national government. The project could not be completed. “The decision of the mayor’s office of Montevideo not to support this initiative is surprising for the stated reasons: that it does not cooperate with the development of the center and Ciudad Vega and that it divides the city into neighborhoods for the poor and the rich,” he told Nation Deputy Minister of Transport and Public Works, Juan Jose Olizola.

The special initiative was presented in October and the Presidency of the Republic declared that it “considers it relevant” to the project for which it was directed to the Minister of the Region (MTOP) and the stage at which they had to present the “economic feasibility”.

On May 9, President Louis Lacalle Bo Signed the decision that confirmed that the project “is of great importance to the administration, as it will contribute to the hierarchy of the city in general and Montevideo Street in particular”, and that it will allow to expand “the width of the port connecting it with the region further.

A representative of the company promoting the plan, Ignacio Muñoz de Jirkel SA, said they are a project Investing $2.3 billion over ten years And that the “first phase” is “location of the land, construction of the bridge and infrastructure” over “four years” and with an investment of 250 million US dollars.

IMM’s director of planning, Luis Origni, said they are rejecting the plan because of a “The Question of Balance Planning”he said he would focus “in one place in Montevideo on a massive area of ​​square metres, not only for housing but also for offices and commerce”, which “It will affect the processes that have to do with the life of central Montevideo, in particular the center and the old city”.

The national government is not convinced by these explanations. “Stopping an initiative that aims to create more than 4,500 jobs and invest $2.3 billion seems a huge mistake to us.”Deputy Minister of Works said. Olaizola has been added to Nation That “if this situation continues” in Montevideo, they will “Talk to investors so that the initiative can be implemented in another department.”

In political circles they discussed the possibility of doing this in another city that has a government that accepts work, such as cannelloni or colognealthough the authorities themselves are aware that this will be another project and will affect the interest of investors.

What are the opportunities? The mayor refused outright, moving is not easy, so the project has no chance of being realized. At least for now.