The Department of Territory of the Generalitat has decided to unilaterally terminate the contract for the Balaguer tram via a simple email. This was reported by the newspaper La Mañana in its recent edition, which details the notification sent to those affected by the Catalan regional administration in the Noguera region.

The electronic communication, sent directly by the services of the department headed by the corresponding regional ministry, settles a long-debated project in the Lleida counties without holding a face-to-face meeting or a detailed institutional appearance. From La 101 de Lleida, we report the facts exactly as they appear in the information published by the Lleida newspaper, which has gained access to the terms under which the contractual termination took place.

The cancellation of the Balaguer tram

The decision to abruptly cut ties with the Balaguer tram initiative directly impacts the expectations of sustainable mobility and territorial cohesion planned for the north of the province of Lleida. Citizens and economic stakeholders in the area are witnessing how a commitment announced from offices in Barcelona evaporates through an email inbox, without further formal explanation or prior debate in local institutions.

La Mañana details in its pages that the Catalan executive bases this step on internal management criteria and investment reviews, although the abrupt manner chosen to communicate the shutdown has caused bewilderment among residents and municipal representatives of Balaguer. The digital route thus replaces the institutional dialogue that the people of Lleida have persistently demanded from the Generalitat for major issues affecting the day-to-day running of their infrastructure.

Repercussions in the Noguera region

The impact of this resolution via telematics goes beyond the strictly administrative sphere and deals a blow to public transport forecasts in an area that suffers from historical deficiencies in rail and road connectivity. The loss of this tram project leaves Balaguer and its surroundings without a modern transport alternative that was included in regional development plans.

Public procurement protocols and the relationship between the Generalitat and the municipalities of Lleida are once again under scrutiny following this episode. Those of us writing here from La 101 note that the use of a simple email to revoke a commitment of this magnitude raises questions about the institutional respect that the regional administration accords to the interests of the province of Lleida. The end of this infrastructure is consummated without public debate or transparency, relegating the needs of the people of Lleida to a digital notification.

The response of the Paeria and the meeting scheduled for the end of the month

According to La Mañana, the Paeria (city council) of Balaguer plans to meet with the Department of Territory at the end of the month to find out the exact reasons for the termination of the Balaguer tram contract. This action is now left without a date and directly conditions other urban planning projects planned for the Inpacsa area.

As explained by the mayor of Balaguer, Lorena González, the Generalitat informed them by email of the cancellation of the contract, but the city council still does not have the details on what caused this situation. Pending the aforementioned meeting, the mayor pointed out that the council suspects the awarded company may have failed to meet some of the established deadlines.

The city council’s unease and the lack of prior response

Mayor Lorena González stated that the paralysis of the project “ens sap greu” (we are sorry) and denounced that the city council’s technical office had requested information on several occasions regarding the status of the project, all of this “sense obtenir cap resposta; la primera resposta que hem tingut és aquest problema” (without obtaining any response; the first response we have had is this problem), as La Mañana emphasizes.

This lack of fluent dialogue with the regional administration has increased unease within the Paeria, which now trusts that the meeting at the end of the month will serve to redirect the situation and demand accountability regarding the future of such a necessary infrastructure for the municipality of Noguera.

Direct impact on Inpacsa’s urban planning

The suspension of the tram directly affects the urban planning of the Inpacsa area in Balaguer. In this regard, Mayor González pointed out that this year it will not be possible to carry out the construction of the athletics track or other projects pending execution in the same sector, such as the pavilion or the municipal swimming pool.

For all these reasons, the institutional meeting scheduled for a few days from now will have to serve, as the mayor herself indicated, to determine the next steps to be taken by the involved administrations and to find out exactly how the urban planning foreseen for the Inpacsa area will have to be modified as a result of this unforeseen setback.

The Paeria’s demand: a new tender

Faced with this scenario of uncertainty and temporary blockage of investments, Lorena González announced that the Balaguer city council will firmly demand that the Department of Territory re-tender the tram project.

The Paeria of Balaguer thus maintains its demand that the Government not definitively bury the initiative and proceed to reactivate the appropriate administrative procedures so that the action is not left in a drawer sine die, thereby safeguarding the expectations of urban development and communications that the city had placed in this facility.