Tenerife Moves to Expand Valle de Güímar Industrial Estate and Overhaul Management
Tenerife’s Island Council is advancing plans to expand the Valle de Güímar Industrial Estate and establish a new conservation entity to resolve long-standing administrative and maintenance challenges.
Tenerife is finally moving to address years of administrative gridlock regarding its industrial land. The Island Council (Cabildo) has announced its support for expanding the Valle de Güímar Industrial Estate, a move aimed at tackling the island’s critical shortage of space for businesses. Manuel Fernández Vega, the Minister of Industry, noted that the current lack of suitable land is a major hurdle for economic growth. The local government in Güímar has proposed converting 300,000 square meters of rustic land into commercial space, a plan currently undergoing a formal technical review.
While the local government approved the expansion in late November, the project faces a long road ahead. Because it requires changing the island’s Master Plan for Commercial Estates, the process is complex and could take several years to complete.
At the same time, the area is working to fix long-standing maintenance issues by establishing an Urban Conservation Entity (EUC). This model, which has already succeeded in Granadilla and parts of Gran Canaria, is designed to manage the estate’s upkeep more effectively. The process is nearly complete: the Cabildo has approved the statutes, and now the municipalities of Güímar and Arafo must give their final sign-off, following Candelaria’s lead.
The EUC will be a joint venture, with 55% public and 45% private ownership. To get it started, the Cabildo has pledged a 200,000-euro grant, supported by an additional 250,000 euros from a liquidating association. Once the list of property owners is finalized, they will hold an assembly to elect an executive committee to oversee operations.
This push for professional management builds on 1.6 million euros already invested by the Cabildo during this term. Recent improvements include road repairs, better lighting, new ultra-fast electric vehicle charging points, and upgrades to road access to help reduce traffic. These steps mark a significant effort to end a decade of uncertainty and provide the industrial estate with the stable management it has long lacked.