One year after the Hard Rock elections: What has happened to the massive project?

BarcelonaThis Monday marks exactly one year since the Catalan elections of May 12. And while some things have changed (first and foremost, the political orientation of the government), others remain unchanged. This is the case with the urban planning process for the Hard Rock megaproject, one of the key players in the election: the then-president, Pere Aragonès. dissolved Parliament when it was unable to approve the 2024 budget due to the cross-veto between the PSC and Comuns over this tourist complex in Vila-seca and Salou. A year later, Aragonès maintained this Monday that he does not regret having brought forward the elections because there was a "blockade" that made governability unviable and because of the "clamp between PSC and Junts" over the Hard Rock. "There was an interest in the Republican government not continuing," he told Ser Catalunya in relation to the lack of support to approve the budget. In any case, the understanding that ERC, Comuns, and the PSC could not reach was possible after the elections, when the three parties agreed, in the investiture agreements, to eliminate the tax privilege at this casino. With the Department of Territory in the hands of the Socialists and the tax privilege already rejected by the Parliament, how is the project doing?

The report, stuck

The processing of the Hard Rock master plan made a reset after The High Court of Justice of Catalonia overturned it in 2020., following an appeal from environmental organizations Gepec and Aturem Hard Rock. The project returned to Territori's table with some changes, but they were insufficient; in 2022, the Generalitat issued an unfavorable environmental report which called for further amendments. At the end of that year, the PSC proposed to the Aragonès government that they vote in favor of the budget if it unblocked the Hard Rock project (along with other conditions, such as the expansion of the airport or the B-40).

But the 2024 elections were called without the new report emerging from the drawer of Marc Vilahur, Director General of Environmental Policies, who was part of Pere Aragonès's government and whom the PSC kept in office.. Several voices attribute to him a "technical" profile (and not a party one). The NewspaperThe report requested 60 million euros from Hard Rock to give it the green light as compensation for the environmental impact. The PSC government considers it a "draft" (it lacked the signature) and commissioned a new one, which Vilahur must also sign. Sources at Territori indicate that work is being done under the direction of the current Secretary of Ecological Transition, Jordi Sargatal.

In any case, several sources consulted by ARA assure that there are no developments in the urban planning process, nor are any expected in the short term. The Government has met with the investors, also according to sources. It was an "institutional" and "cordial" meeting led by the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, according to the Government, "as they have with other investors." There, they were informed of the content of the tax modification.

The mayors are in a hurry.

With no news in sight, the mayors of Salou and Vila-seca look at their watches and remember that they've been waiting in their territory for ten years now, ever since businessman Sheldon Adelson proposed building a Eurovegas in Catalonia, which gradually became smaller. "This must be accelerated. The political commitment of tax reform has already been fulfilled," Salou's mayor, Pere Granados, tells ARA. From Vila-seca, the mayor, Pere Segura, says they are still waiting to receive a response to the objections they presented regarding the master plan, adding that now the Generalitat (Catalan government) "must decide" whether to go ahead. Both mayors emphasize the opportunity to deseasonalize the tourism that the resort would bring, with 2,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs, and to complement Port Aventura's offerings.

The environmental offensive

Despite the administrative paralysis, environmental organizations have not sat idly by. Gepec and Aturem Hard Rock have filed an appeal with the Directorate General of Taxes and Gaming to annul the casino license granted to BCN IR 3 SA for allegedly having been granted outside of legal requirements. They already assume that the Generalitat (Catalan Government) will not rule in their favor, but they hope the courts will do so when they come, once administrative channels have been exhausted. For Gepec president Xavi Jiménez, the project has been "false" for too many years.

What are the organizations using as a basis to try to overturn the license? In the appeal, they claim that one of the conditions established by the tender was that the successful bidder have "full availability" of the land where the casino is to be built. And that's not the case, according to both entities: the land where the Hard Rock is to be built belongs to Mediterranea Beach (owned by CriteriaCaixa), which had signed an option contract with Incasòl under which the public entity agreed to purchase it for €120 million and then resell it for the same price. However, this contract did not oblige the company to sell and, furthermore, it expired in 2017, according to confirmation. A report from the legal services consulted by ARA that quantified what the Generalitat would have to pay if it disassociated itself from them..

"The company has no formal or informal commitment to access the land," Aturem Hard Rock emphasizes. The ERC government commissioned Incasol to formalize another half-hour contract. before agreeing with the PSC on the 2024 accounts, but it never materialized. In any case, the decision to sell or not would continue in the hands of Criteria. On the other hand, Mediterranea Beach has businesses on other land in the area and is, in fact, already building there. the luxury Infinitum developments, with 150 homes built, 81 apartments and 34 villas.

The PSC, in favor

Despite the imbalances in Parliament, the position within the Camp de Tarragona Socialist Party (PSC) is unanimous. Several Socialist sources emphasize that the project remains "necessary" and that they are committed. Officially, The government does not give up on Hard Rock, although he emphasizes that it depends on private investors. However, any move in favor of the complex could trigger a crisis with the ERC (Republican Revolutionary Party) and Comuns (Comuns), both partners with whom he is carrying out the government's project.