The magistrate of Bilbao Commercial Court Number 2, Olga Ahedo Peña, has authorized the sale of the main lot of La Naval de Sestao to the Belgian group VGP, which presented the best offer in the liquidation process and plans to create a logistics park in the facilities of the old Biscayan shipyard.
Thus, the allegations presented by two companies that participated in the auction and by the UGT union, which requested that the award proposed by the bankruptcy administrator be annulled and that a company with an industrial orientation be chosen, are rejected.
The judge has estimated that the obligation to dedicate at least 51% of the land to industrial uses “is an administrative issue” and that, in any case, is outside her jurisdiction. “It is not up to the bankruptcy administration or the bankruptcy judge to control compliance with these requirements, since it is the Port Authority that must authorize the transfer of the concession,” she added.
Pray for the fulfillment
Both the Basque Government and the Sestao City Council have assured that they will ensure that the requirement established for the land is met and that the area will not be requalified to allow exclusively logistical use.
Amazon’s installation on the industrial land of the former Babcock Wilcox in Trapagaran is an example that the institutions do not want to repeat, due to the difference in the quality of employment in industrial projects compared to parcel service projects.
The Belgian group VGP contemplates dedicating land to industrial use on a rental basis. Some of the companies that opted for the shipyard and were left out for making a lower economic offer, want to agree with VGP the purchase or rental of part of the facilities to give continuity to shipbuilding.
Specifically, an international shipyard has a 2025 plan for La Naval, which will generate 300 direct jobs and has a portfolio of four ships. His goal is to have 100,000 square meters to sell his project.
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