The Intermodal Center of the Penedès begins to take shape

This new intermodal Center will generate an average of 425,6 million euros annually in the Catalan economy and even 5.770 direct jobs. The Centre will cover an area of 177 hectares in the municipal terms of L'Arboç del Penedès, Banyeres del Penedès and Castellet i la Gornal and Sant Jaume dels Domenys. In addition, it will combine areas of economic and logistic activity with training, clean industries and services, will include an intermodal goods terminal, connected in the future in the Mediterranean corridor rail, a new entrance on the AP-7, and a vial of connection between the highway and the A-7. Also, it is also expected to expand open spaces protected with 125 hectares of plot for not building and including corrective measures of the environmental impact and a functional design fine-tuning.

The PDU originally approved by the CUC is the first step of the necessary urban planning that will boost the DPTOP to make reality the intermodal Centre del Penedès (known as Logis Penedès), which combines actions road, rail and land policy.

The intermodal Centre del Penedès (or Logis) is one of the intermodal logistics centres provided for in the Plan of transport infrastructure in Catalonia and is consistent with the determinations of the Territorial Plan of the Camp de Tarragona. This PDU provides the document framework which will be, then, all the instruments of more detailed planning that links each infrastructure development with the momentum of the areas of economic activity, services and equipment for training and research.

Initially, once approved, the PDU will be submitted now to public information and report of Councils and other concerned administrations.

In addition to the reserves of land necessary to begin to foster the development of the intermodal Centre, the PDU contains a landscape study prepared by the Centre for research and projects of landscape of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). This study identifies the most important aspects to take into account in planning to minimize the environmental impact, at the time that already provides the corrective measures to be applied.

The new intermodal Center of the Penedès

The scope of the PDU approved this month of June is 404,5 hectares. Of these, the plan intended 177 to infrastructure and areas of economic activity of the intermodal Center. In addition, the PDU extends the open spaces with a regime of special protection in 125 hectares, mainly in la riera de Marmellar and the Hill of El Papiol. The rest, until you reach the 404,5 hectares, is not subject to any changes.

The 177 hectares of the intermodal Centre in the Penedès itself is distributed as follows:

• Logistics and intermodal activity: the PDU dedicated 27 hectares to intermodal activities with direct rail access and 69 to logistics activities. Thus, an intermodal cargo terminal, with an initial length of 550 m, expandable to 750 meters will be constructed. At first, it would be connected to the railway Iberian wide and, in the future, the broker of international bandwidth between Tarragona and Castellbisbal that will be part of the Mediterranean corridor.
• Clean industry and services: the Penedès Logis will feature 16 acres of space for clean industry and 5.8 hectares more for services that require these companies.
• Green areas: a total of 37 hectares of the area of the intermodal Center are reserved for open spaces and green areas. The internal roads of the Centre will occupy 18 hectares.
• Equipment: the PDU also provides a framework for equipment of more than 40,000 square meters, destined to host training activities and I + D related to logistics.
• A new access to the motorway AP-7 and a vial of connection between the highway and the A-7 highway. This last Road will be the subject of a specific special plan to ensure the visual and acoustic isolation from the town of Banyeres del Penedès. In this sense, is expected to a linear park with the function of cushioning the impact of this infrastructure.
• The urban master plan bets so that the new intermodal center incorporates the necessary mechanisms of saving water and energy, as well as for the reuse of rainwater and installation of photovoltaic solar panels.

Also, the PDU includes a territorial impact study, prepared by the Department of geography of the University of Rovira i Virgili (URV) and another study of economic impact produced by the Department of Economics at the same University.

According to this study, the activity generated by the intermodal Centre in the Penedès would generate an annual average of 425,6 million euros of contribution to GDP of Catalonia. The direct occupation generated by the future Centre is estimated at an average of 5.770 jobs. However, taking into account the indirect and induced impacts, this effect on employment could be, also in an intermediate scenario, at 9,330 jobs.

The public investment estimated to realize necessary infrastructures and urbanization is estimated at EUR 126.7 million. The study of the URV expected that this fact will stimulate private investment added in warehouses and logistics of EUR 344,9 million facility.

The Department of Territorial Planning and public works signed on June 23 - through of the public company Cimalsa - an agreement with the Transabadell group which Loal logistics, a subsidiary of the group in Tarragona, deal with rent a module of 1,500 square meters in the CISG the Campwhere it will begin its activities in September.

This installation is part of a process of expansion of the activities of this company in the area of Tarragona and will employ 20 people in a direct way. It is expected that Loal logistics move weekly about 1,500 tonnes of goods from the CIM to companies of the Camp de Tarragona.

We must remember that Transabadell is a group of logistics services with more than 40 years of history with a broad presence in the set of Spain and Portugal. Its headquarters are in Barberà del Vallès and the ZAL of Barcelona.

Thus, with this already are five leading companies in the logistics sector that have been installed in the modular ship of the CISG, along with Salvat logistics, transport Martínez Souto, TDN and TXT logistics. Likewise, the launching of activities of the company's passenger transport buses flat and the start of the works of the future station services to vehicles is imminent.