Page 201 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

Processes, urban impact and evaluation of the high-speed rail in the city of Zaragoza, Spain.

18. Urban development works

The first urbanization works in the two areas started in January 2007. The delays in the process
of urban planning collided with the real difficulty of finishing in time for the Expo 2008. In the
hurry to complete the works needed for the inauguration, in June 2008, the huge site was di-
vided in several phases. For the City Council, the critical works were the entrance to the city,
the new elevated highway and the completion of the third ring road of the city, just in front of
the departures side next to the intermodal station, because this road were the connection to
Expo site.

Fig 28. Winning proposal from Nozar with B. Tobías in Avenue of Navarre area. Source: ZAV.

During that year and a half, the society dealt with 25 different actions at the same time
and finished works for a total amount of more than 500 million Euros. The impossibility of
developing the total surface of the area led to leave after the Expo the parts not needed during
the exhibition. So, like the mentioned case of the Intermodal Station building, the urbanization
of the areas was not totally finished, giving a precarious image in some parts.
The expenditures of ZAV during this period were substantially higher than the money provided
by the first parcel. The society could not sell more parcels, in the administrative process of
rezoning. So, it had to ask for a loan of 400 million Euros that was going to pay when they could
sell the remaining plots.

Fig 29. Works at Portillo and Delicias areas in 2008, during the Exhibition. Source: ZAV.

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 199