The Bilbao City Council and the public administrations and entities responsible for the use and development of the Nervión-Ibaizabal and Cadagua river basins as they pass through the city have agreed to extend for four more years the protocol of intentions signed on January 27, 2023. The agreement establishes a framework for institutional collaboration to address projects and activities in these areas.
The extension, unanimously approved at the Protocol's Joint Monitoring Committee meeting on October 13, 2026, and ratified today by the municipal Government Board, will extend the agreement's validity until January 27, 2031.
Among the protocol's objectives are strengthening the joint definition of criteria and projects, and streamlining the processing of administrative authorizations in these areas, based on the principles of cooperation, collaboration, and coordination. The agreement also promotes an integrated and transversal vision of the water surface, docks, and riverbanks of the Nervión-Ibaizabal and Cadagua basins, aiming to reconcile citizen, cultural, educational, and environmental interests through various uses and activities.
The extension addendum maintains the remaining clauses of the protocol signed in 2023 without modification, which will retain their validity and effectiveness under the same terms and conditions.
The protocol and its extension addendum involve the participation of the following public administrations and entities: Bilbao City Council, Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Directorate General of the Merchant Navy, Port Authority of Bilbao, Basque Water Agency (URA), and Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia.
