The Canary Islands Government will present to the central Executive the candidacies of Gran Canaria and Tenerife to be the headquarters of the new Spanish Space Agency, but, according to the criteria established by the Ministry of Territorial Policy, which is directed by the socialist Isabel Rodríguez, If there is more than one proposal in an Autonomous Community, it will be the Governing Council of that region who “must indicate the order of preference of each of the localities.” In the case of the Canary Islands, the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society (Aciisi) dependent on the area council directed by Elena Máñez, It will carry out a technical report on the proposals that are being prepared by the councils of both islands, which it will submit to the Canarian Government so that it sets its position as to which is the preferred candidacy of the Archipelago. The Aciisi has only asked the councils of Tenerife and Gran Canaria to present their candidacy offer to host the Spanish Nasa, for being the only corporations that have a plenary agreement showing their interest in hosting the Space Agency.
The maximum term to formalize the candidacies expires on November 7, that is, one month after the criteria for designating the Agency’s future headquarters were published in the BOE. The councils of the capital islands are already in full swing drafting their respective proposals, for which they have a period of fifteen days, that is, until October 20. Afterwards, the Aciisi will have to make a technical report and submit it to the Governing Council, which will decide which is the preferred island, a difficult role considering the rivalry that has always existed on these issues in the Islands.
The councils of both islands prepare their proposals that must be delivered on October 20
Both island corporations believe that they more than meet the millimetric criteria established in the call to host this new agency, whose headquarters will not be in Madrid due to the commitment of the government of Pedro Sanchez to decentralize these organisms. The Space Agency will have a budget of 500 million euros, as explained by the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, and will have, in principle, 60 highly qualified employees. The objective is for the agency to be operational in the first quarter of 2023, so those applications that offer facilities available to be occupied from the beginning of said period, and that have a wide network of access to media, will be highly valued. public transport.
Specifically, in the bases a space of about 3,000 square meters is requested and that it be located in a place that has public means of transport, both air, train -especially high-speed trains (AVE)- and by road. It is established that the facilities, which must be transferred to the State, are less than an hour from an international airport. But, in addition, it is specified that this aerodrome must have connections with Brussels and Paris, and preferably also with Amsterdam, Toulouse, Rome and Prague, destinations that the staff of that agency will foreseeably visit more frequently. ALikewise, the Government wants it to have an adequate hotel environment that allows the accommodation of institutional and work visits, as well as for the agency to be supported by a nearby “dynamic” business, educational and university sector.
The bases are so precise that they demand issues such as that the facilities must have meeting and videoconference rooms, an assembly hall for events of a maximum of 250 people, parking and high-speed connectivity throughout the premises, both by LAN and via Wi-Fi and capable of secure communications.
Likewise, they demand support programs for the integration and family reunification of the personnel who have to move to the new headquarters of the Space Agency such as: aid for renting or buying a home, aid for job search or job relocation of immediate family members, aid for the continuation of compulsory and university studies of direct family members, or any other aid that facilitates and encourages the mobility of staff to the new headquarters.
The Canary Islands have two strong competitors to host the organization: Seville and Puertollano
In any case, say the Government’s criteria, It will be positively valued that the candidacy is accompanied by a report issued by the Governing Council of the Autonomous Community supporting the suitability of the same and indicating the “preferred” city in the event that there is more than one, as is the case in the Canary Islands.
These criteria have unleashed the discomfort of various communities and political organizations, which have lamented that many places in “empty Spain” may be left out because for decades they have been discriminated against and have not benefited from transport, hotel, industrial or educational. This is the case of Teruel.
The Madrid municipalities of Robledo de Chavela or Tres Cantos, as well as Teruel, Seville, Huelva, León, Puertollano (Ciudad Real) and the Canary Islands, have been interested in hosting this headquarters. From the PP it has been denounced that some bases have been made to the measure of Puertollano, where Minister Isabel Rodríguez was mayor, who leads the advisory commission in charge of carrying out these criteria and choosing the final proposal.
The councils of Gran Canaria and Tenerife assure that they fully comply, “and more”, with everything that is requested in the bases. They have international airports, and although they do not have the AVE, they do have quality urban transport and, in the case of Tenerife, also the tram, as well as high-level hotel infrastructures, a university and scientific community that is thriving in space issues, together with to relevant organizations such as the Canary Islands Space Center managed by INTA, in Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics (IAC), with its observatories located in La Palma and Tenerife, or the Canary Islands Oceanic Platform (Plocan), in addition to qualified human capital in this sector.
Criteria for choosing a venue
Is it a new center?
- The creation of the Spanish Space Agency is recognized in the reform of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation and in the National Security Strategy 2021. It is also included in the Strategic Project for Aerospace Economic Recovery and Transformation (Perte) , coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Do you have resources?
- Next year’s Budgets provide for the start-up of the Spanish Space Agency, which will manage a budget of 500 million euros in space programs.
How is the venue chosen?
- The Government has published a series of criteria that will be taken into account by the consultative commission in charge of proposing the headquarters of the future agency. They figure that a space of 3,000 square meters less than an hour from an international airport, has a wide network of access to public means of transport, as well as a nearby hotel and university environment.
