Ecologistas en Acción has criticized the Government of the Canary Islands for choosing "the alternative with the greatest environmental impact" for the LZ5 highway project. The environmental organization states that in the awarding procedure, the Executive "did not adequately assess the ecological impact" of "paving" eight kilometers of protected rural land.
The environmental organization has urged the former socialist Minister of Public Works of the Government of the Canary Islands, Sebastián Franquis, to explain the reasons why he "reduced the importance of environmental criteria" in the final assessment of the LZ5 highway route alternatives. In this sense, they have stated that this reduction meant that it was chosen to create a ring road between Argana and the Airport, "crossing virgin territory of El Jable".
According to what they have defended, in the first evaluation study of alternatives for the LZ5, the Government of the Canary Islands "weighted the environmental aspects with a value of 3, while in the final study of alternatives, which includes the underground alternative requested by the City Council of San Bartolomé, the weighting of the ecological impact was changed from 3 to 2 points".
Ecologistas en Acción has warned that "such a reduction of environmental criteria" meant that the "most economical, but most environmentally impactful" option was not chosen.
The environmental association has indicated that the eight-kilometer, six-lane route will cross "rural land with natural and heritage protection and will affect species protected by the Habitats Directives, such as the Houbara Bustard." Thus, they have added that "the chosen alternative does not comply with the directives of European Union law", nor with the Land and Protected Spaces Law of the Canary Islands, by "expressly prohibiting the occupation of new land, and even more so if it is a protected natural space".
Finally, the group has added that the Government of the Canary Islands must explain what the awarding procedure for the LZ5 route was. In this line, Ecologistas en Acción has assured that the former socialist minister and businessman José Francisco Henríquez Sánchez, "was one of those responsible for reducing the assessment of the ecological impact" and at the same time "was awarded the project" for a value of 1.5 million euros, through his family business Henriquez Sánchez.
