The amendment to the metropolitan general plan (MPGM) means the state-owned site currently used for green spaces and home to the State Vehicle Fleet, in C/ Ramon Trias Fargas with C/ Doctor Trueta, will be now classified as a facility, thanks to an agreement with the Ministry for Science and Innovation.

Specifically, this will pave the way for a new building housing the future CSIC science and research services centre in the field of health, plus the Barcelona Biomedical Research Institute (IIBB-CSIC) and the Barcelona Molecular Biology Institute (IBMB-CSIC), currently located at the Hospital Clínic Campus and the Barcelona Science Park, respectively.

The new centres could bring together over 300 workers and some 40 research groups. The building will also have the spaces needed for the services of the Government Delegation in Catalonia.

According to the protocol signed with the CSIC, the City Council will be tasked with reclassifying the land and processing the urban planning and building permits, while the CSIC and the central administration will assume the construction costs of the new building.

Key new part of the Ciutadella del Coneixement

The new centre will see the CSIC strengthening its backing for the Ciutadella del Coneixement, a major project that will turn the park and its surroundings into a leading European hub for knowledge, dissemination, research and innovation. The strategy is being headed by Barcelona City Council in collaboration with the Government of Catalonia, the ministries of Science and Universities, Pompeu Fabra University, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the University of Barcelona, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Fundació Pasqual Maragall and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology.