A New Audiovisual and Digital Hub
The Generalitat de Catalunya will invest €42.7 million to purchase tertiary land in the Tres Chimeneias area of Sant Adrià de Besòs, a move announced on Tuesday 20th October 2026 during the Consell Executiu meeting. This investment paves the way for the development of Catalunya Media City, a strategic initiative to convert the former thermal power plant site into a centre for audiovisual, digital, and video game industries. The project will be based in the old turbine hall, the only remaining structure of the 1970s industrial complex, which has been preserved due to community mobilisation. The space will house sound stages, recording studios, editing and colour grading rooms, and technology laboratories for virtual and augmented reality, the metaverse, and projection mapping.
Urban Regeneration and New Housing
The transformation includes broader urban development, with plans for a new neighbourhood featuring more than 1,700 homes, 40% of which will be publicly protected housing. Half of these protected units will be designated for social rent, the other for affordable purchase. A new ten-hectare metropolitan park will also be created, contributing to public space expansion. According to Ferran Falcó, director general of the Consorci del Besòs, the urban plan covering 32 hectares will shift public space from 20% to 80% once completed.
Next Steps and Governance
The final delimitation of the land to be acquired depends on the approval of urban planning instruments, including the Urbanization Project and the Reparcelling Project, which will define buildable volume, property distribution, and legal transfer frameworks. Catalunya Media City is led by the Generalitat and supported by the municipalities of Sant Adrià, Badalona, and Terrassa, the Consorci del Besòs, and the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. These institutions form a joint monitoring committee overseeing implementation. The project aims to boost economic activity, attract international production, and create a resilient, climate-adaptive urban environment. Experts project that the development will be largely complete within a decade.
Primary sources: barcelona.cat, cultura.gencat.cat, dtes.gencat.cat, territori.gencat.cat. Reported by metropoliabierta.elespanol.com, diaricatalunya.cat, ACN, Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life.
