Ginkgo Advisor - Europe's leading impact and sustainability investment fund - has closed the purchase of the Oviedo Gas Works from EDP. The environmental impact investment firm specialising in the acquisition and sustainable regeneration for urban use of contaminated sites estimates that the total investment in this project will exceed €52 million when completed.
The former Gas Factory is located in a very central area of Oviedo, between Paraíso, Azcárraga and Postigo streets, an emblematic place in the city. The aim of this ambitious project is to recover this location for the city through the sustainable decontamination of the land, the recovery of various disused architectural elements, respect for the preservation of the cultural values of the site and the construction of public spaces, gardens, housing and shops. Ginkgo Advisor's will is to reach a consensus on all the interventions with the neighbourhood organisations of Oviedo and with the help of the City Council.
The development of the project has been entrusted to the internationally awarded architect Francisco Mangado Beloqui, an expert in sustainable design and circular economy. Mangado is also a great connoisseur of the city, as he was the architect who designed the new Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias.
From Ginkgo Advisor, they point out that "this project is completely in line with the approach we are looking for in the sites where we already have experience in urban regeneration and is fully in line with the ambitions of the 2018 Action Plan of the European Union Commission for sustainable growth". The organisation, which has successfully completed the regeneration of former industrial sites in Europe and their integration into the social and urban fabric, affirms that "the recovery of this area in the city centre that has been disused for decades will maintain and integrate the historic elements of the site. This project will bring great benefits for the community, for Oviedo and for Asturias.
This agreement responds to the willingness that the previous owner of the factory, EDP, has always shown for the urban regeneration of this space and its integration into the social environment of the capital of Asturias. The electricity company has shown its total willingness to collaborate by considering that Gingko Advisor is the solution for the recovery of this land. This is due to several factors, such as the stable shareholding of the firm, its long experience in projects of this nature and the willingness of the entity to contribute to a better development of urban land such as the Oviedo Gas Factory.
The Oviedo Gasworks began its activity in 1858, being the only electricity generation plant to supply the city for decades. In 1985 it ended its activity, now exclusively linked to electricity.
