The recent declaration by the Tenerife Island Council on 29 July regarding the outsourcing of management for the 24 bioclimatic homes owned by the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energy (ITER), situated in Granadilla de Abona, has incited sharp criticism from the socialist opposition within the island’s administration and from former representatives like María José Belda (who transitioned from a spokesperson for Sí Podemos to being unaffiliated). They express legal, ethical, and political concerns about a decision they perceive as the onset of potential privatisation of the Institute and raise doubts regarding the legal foundation of this action.
The Minister of Innovation, Research and Development, Juanjo Martínez, refutes in comments to Canarias Ahora that this decision regarding the management of the homes signifies an initial move towards the privatisation of ITER. “It is not being privatised at all. The ITER is our most powerful tool for advancing the transformation of the productive model. It is leading in areas such as supercomputing, robotics, agro-space research, and the utilisation of submarine cables alongside marine robotics. We have never contemplated privatisation, but these homes constitute a vital resource for research in sustainable construction, materials, structures, and designs aimed at reducing energy consumption through photovoltaics. However, they have been unused since the pandemic’s disruption, and we believe that in this manner, they do not benefit ITER but instead incur annual costs of 200,000 euros that ought to be mitigated.”
“Through this measure, we will continue with research and dissemination, while a specialised company within the tourism industry manages this expense and contributes a fee along with a share,” he clarifies. He notes that “it was extremely challenging for ITER to maintain its research efforts whilst handling the management, cleaning of the homes for rental, and preparing them to offer appropriate services to clients, such as check-in and key distribution.”
Nevertheless, the PSOE does not concur with this viewpoint as they have been alerting for weeks about the “urban planning irregularities” linked to these homes, “which are not suitable for private utilisation without prior regularisation of their facilities.” Moreover, they emphasise that the homes were intended as a laboratory for research and experimentation regarding sustainable construction, and they lack a public deed for new construction as well as registration in the land registry.
“There is no information available regarding its cadastral reference, as all constructed square meters in the area are classified as offices,” they caution, while reminding that they do not possess a first occupancy licence, “which details the conditions for habitability, and that they only have an individual first-use licence for functioning as a full-scale laboratory,” they point out.
The “multiple irregularities” are further compounded by the absence of connection to municipal water services, though they are self-sufficient with a treatment plant constructed without the necessary permissions from the Island Water Council.
Renovate eleven homes with 120,000 euros of public funds for private use
On his part, Belda, in a recent article asserted that this marks the commencement of the “privatisation of ITER”. He also reminded that there is an active tender for 120,000 euros in public funds to refurbish 11 of the 24 homes, leading him to criticise the fact that rather than being managed publicly (“as stated in ITER’s statutes”), a private tourism entity is now profiting from the infrastructure and enhancements funded “with public money”.
