The Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, and several city councillors met on Monday at the Frank Gehry Bridge. During the inauguration, the site workers observed how the Deusto canal was opened. The canal has been dismantled at 365,000 cubic meters of land, turning what until now was the peninsula into an island next to the Bilbao estuary.

What Aburto has described as “a historic moment” has been condemned by neighbors and neighbors present. Slogans like “This is not Manhattan, nor Zorrotzaurre, La Ribera Viva!” or “Sharks out” have been shown against the Zorrotzaurre project. Before the Ekitalde began, the mayor of Bilbao approached the neighbours to ask them if they were going to say anything, and the Ribera neighbours told him that they have many problems of accessibility, services and security. Neighbours have been waiting for a plan to solve these problems, and once the plan has been developed, they have realised that the neighbour does not take them into account.

Uriola collected in the video the moment the mayor approached the neighbors:

The neighbours of Deusto and Ribera Alta have concentrated on the opening of the Deusto canal in Bilbao. Mayor Aburto has approached Bilbao to ask him, "Do you mean anything to me?" to ask him. pic.twitter.com/1OSJOAY8wN

— Bilboko Uriola (@uriolaeus) October 8, 2018

What is the “Zorrotzaurre” project?

The “Zorrotzaurre” project has been presented as “a comprehensive and sustainable plan that recovers a degraded space”. This includes an island of 840,000 square meters which, according to forecasts, will be provided with “affordable housing”, “clean enterprise”, “large quantity of social and cultural equipment” and “large leisure areas”. Based on the 1995 General Urban Planning Plan in Bilbao, adopted seven years ago, an estimated cost of EUR 250 million is estimated.