The initiative generated a stir and controversy among different political and social actors.
The Municipality of Montevideo flatly rejected this project. “It would operate as a black hole for all of Montevideo”, said Mayor Carolina Cosse. Meanwhile, Environment Minister Andría Peña was surprised that his portfolio was not aware of it, while the Society of Architects of Uruguay assured that the artificial island project MVD 360 “would not represent an innovation” and added that its installation in Montevideo could generate a “harm in the quality of life and economic sustainability for the areas that are abandoned” for the people who would inhabit it.
What does your promoter allege?
“Given the innovative and disruptive characteristics of the project, prior to the start of the technical studies, the promoter group understood it essential to carry out a series of consultations with the authorities, with the aim of obtaining their preliminary point of view and knowing if there was political interest in developing it. “, said the Jirkel group in a statement released this Thursday.
According to the promoter of the project, on February 17 of last year a meeting was held with the leadership of the Municipality of Montevideo. “After the presentation of the project; insular format, location, disruptive characteristics and potential benefits linked to it, confirmation was received from the Planning Director, Arch. Luis Oreggioni, after 45 (forty-five) days of analysis, stating that great interest in the project and the predisposition to collaborate in a participatory manner in the development of the profile studies,” said Jirkel. In this sense, he added that given the “interest expressed by the municipal administration”, the project was presented to the central government, where it received the same approval, and therefore, the promoter group began the studies required to present an initiative private, under the regulations of Law 17,555.
According to the promoter group,MVD360 presented its profile study in October 2021, which was approved by Presidential Resolution in May 2022. In the profile study, the promoters delivered to the administration a compendium of studies of various kinds with the interest of revealing certain unknowns inherent to the viability of the project. Due to the structure of said law, there must be a receiver on the part of the State that studies the initiative and then, if it is approved, do the same with the rest of the state distributions during the feasibility period.
Therefore, “as of said approval, the beginning of the feasibility study with the formation of a multidisciplinary, public and private work group, in order to study in depth the different variables of the project under the supervision of the central government and the Municipality of Montevideo. Finally, if the feasibility study is approved, a competitive public bidding process will be called, also in accordance with current legislation,” the statement said.
The rejection “in advance” of the IM
According to the Jirkek group, without prejudice to the guarantees granted from the aforementioned legislation, “in anticipation of the feasibility studies, the refusal has been received from the Municipality of Montevideo to continue with the process, based on the possible generation of a new urban centrality, to the detriment of other areas that the administration intends to prioritize (Ciudad Vieja, Centro, and the area of the former Mercado Modelo”.
On this point, the private party argues that “one of the fundamental pillars of the project is the generation of a new urban platform, but in this case regional. In this sense, MVD360 is constituted as a country scale project, proposing a new Landmark for Uruguay and the region; and prioritizing the city of Montevideo as a place of implementation. Our country has a history of political, democratic and social stability and macroeconomic strength, essential for the generation of an adequate environment to develop successful investments. Likewise, its strategic location as a gateway to and from the region is complemented by a first-class logistics infrastructure, state-of-the-art technology in telecommunications and the best energy supply in Latin America based on renewable sources.”
In addition, he considers that “the centralities prioritized by the Intendancy are not opposed to MVD360, rather, they complement each other by working in synergy in order to position Montevideo at a global level, expanding and diversifying its public urban offer. The creation of new infrastructure that helps to revalue public space, landscaping and the connection with the sea”.
According to the population censuses (INE), 1996 first and 2011 later, a population decrease in the city of Montevideo can be seen. Shift that has been partly absorbed by other departments such as Canelones and Maldonado. “MVD360, among other regional benefits, seeks to revitalize the offer in Montevideo, contributing to said displacement,” says Jirkel.
On the other hand, it indicates that the initiative would generate the “injection of new genuine income that the project generates by way of real estate contribution (US$ 40 million per year) and taxes, will contribute significantly to making the allocation of resources viable, not only for the development of public works in Ciudad Vieja and Centro but will also enable the development of social infrastructure works (rehousing, sanitation), in order to cover basic needs still unsatisfied of the population of Montevideo”.
The promoters highlighted that Montevideo would gain 36 hectares (ha) of new infrastructure that are broken down as follows: 14 ha of public land, 12 ha of private land and 10 ha of port.
“54% of the land generated would be absolutely open, for public use and would consist of 2.7 km more of a promenade, equipped and designed for pedestrians, a linear park, a central park and seafront promenades, as well as a pedestrian and bike path circuit where the Montevideon and the tourist can circulate freely, as well as a quality marina. It is committed to being a social and cultural meeting point within the existing offer in Montevideo. MVD360 is projected as an integral and heterogeneous urban platform ” , it states.
How much would apartments in that area cost?
The economic feasibility studies and business plan submitted by Jirkel estimate sales prices in m2 of units similar to those already existing in non-coastal areas of neighborhoods such as Pocitos, Buceo and Malvín, as well as the area of Av. de las Américas.
In the time window of real estate development, approximately in 10 years, the population potential by MVD360 it is estimated at 9,500 inhabitants, which corresponds to less than 0.7% of the current population of Montevideo. “Therefore, the initiative does not become a trigger for decentralization for Montevideo, on the contrary, with the contribution of only 0.7%, 100% of the population would gain a single space,” he argues.
Screenshot of Google Maps Street View
Private assures that it would be an attraction so that Montevideo does not continue to lose population.
“The official communication to the public opinion about MVD360 was projected for the moment in which the feasibility study was more advanced. Since during it, working in a broad and transversal table with the advisors, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works ( MTOP) and the Municipality of Montevideo (IM), the project could have undergone a series of changes. It would not have been prudent, on the part of this promoter group, to report on a regional-scale project without it being the definitive one. However, and because the project took on importance in the last few hours, Jirkel SA sees itself as responsible for informing the entire society,” the statement said.
In short, the promoter maintains its predisposition to advance in the project. It is proposed to open an interdisciplinary table in order to guarantee and ensure the realization of the project for the benefit of all stakeholders “, he concluded.
