The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, accompanied by the Councilor for Territorial Policy and Land Management, Jesús Machín, presented this Monday the main strategic axes and the most relevant data of the Island Plan of Ordering of Lanzarote and La Graciosa and the Chinijo Archipelago (PIOLC), a strategic document that places sustainability as the central axis of the island's development.
The president announces that the draft of this plan contemplates the protection of 59.46% of the island's surface. “Almost 60% of our island territory is under the heading of natural preservation. This means that we have increased the protected area by eliminating the urbanizing process to guarantee sustainable development and balanced growth of our islands for the next two decades,” Betancort emphasizes.
“Lanzarote leads with this plan a development model that balances progress and well-being with the conservation of what makes us unique: our landscape, biodiversity and culture, and that, above all, respects the idiosyncrasy and the feeling of the population of Lanzarote and La Graciosa,” says the island's president.
For his part, the Councilor for Territorial Policy and Land Management, Jesús Machín Tavío, stresses that “the Plan that we currently have in force is from 1991 and is totally outdated”, so “the new document will be a basic tool to face the great challenges that the islands of Lanzarote and La Graciosa have and where the strategic areas are set for the next decades in terms of infrastructure development, facilities or public services”.
Reduction of tourist land, no consumption of territory for new roads and coastal management
Likewise, Machín highlights that “the new PIOL allows the reduction of land destined for tourist beds, in relation to the 91 plan, and establishes land reserves for public housing, in addition to defining areas reserved for sustainable agriculture, the development of renewable energies, and the improvement of connectivity through new transport infrastructures”. In this sense, the councilor details that “this document does not contemplate the consumption of more territory for the construction of new roads, but rather focuses on improving the existing ones, such as the duplication of the LZ-40 and LZ-2 roads”.
This PIOL will also be pioneering because it dedicates special attention to rural areas in protected natural spaces, with the aim of improving the quality of life. Likewise, it also orders the coastline, contemplating the fishing shelters of La Santa, Famara and including the Isleta de La Santa as a protected open-air port area.
Essential equipment and infrastructures
Among the highlights of the PIOL, the president points out the construction of the City of Justice, the demanded Congress Palace, the new Sports City in Arrecife and the Tahiche Health City, which will reinforce the island's socio-health services. “This project responds to an urgent need of the population and will allow us to offer quality care in an environment designed to guarantee the well-being of our elders and people in situations of dependency,” he says.
“The expansion of the Zonzamas complex will also be key to transforming our waste management, adapting it to the most demanding standards of circular economy and reducing the environmental impact on the island,” highlights Oswaldo Betancort.
In the educational field, Jesús Machín made special mention of the Teguise University Campus, “which will promote knowledge and research in strategic sectors such as renewable energies and sustainable tourism, among others”. In addition, the councilor details that “Lanzarote will have a new service area for motorhomes and caravans in Famara and a rally track on degraded land in Montaña Mina”.
Improvements in hydraulic infrastructures
The new PIOL also contemplates the expansion of hydraulic networks and treatment plants, as well as conduction systems. Among the main actions are the construction of a new EDAM Guatiza-Mala plant; the expansion of EDAM Janubio; the expansion of deposits in Maneje and Zonzama, in addition to land reserves for reservoirs such as Tinache.
Processing of the PIOL
Once the Governing Council, held this Monday, has taken note of the document of the draft of the Island Plan of Lanzarote and La Graciosa and the Chinijo Archipelago and the Initial Strategic Document, the next step will be its environmental assessment by the competent body and consultation with public administrations and interested parties.
This preliminary document also entails its corresponding strategic environmental study, as well as the relevant reports from the technical and legal services of the Cabildo before its initial approval, which is expected to be in 2026.