Madrid City Council gives green light to Operation Camp. The Plenary approved on Tuesday, with the votes of the PP, PSOE and Vox, the urban project that will allow the construction of 10,700 homes on land belonging to the national government, abandoned for more than two decades.
The approval came amid praise from most groups and criticism from Más Madrid, which had taken a stand against it due to the low percentage of rental housing planned and because the majority of its homes can be sold at free market prices up to 15 years since its construction.
Despite this, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda has stated that Operation Camp will have 100% of its homes “at affordable prices”, committing to this point because “as owners” they will be able to decide. “We will put in place a mechanism to set prices that we consider affordable”, underline the same sources cited by Europa Press.
The works are expected to begin in late 2025 or early 2026, and the tender for the urbanisation works of phase 3 will begin in 2028. “We have been working on this project for 30 years and we have managed to unlock the technical complexity,” assured the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez.
On the other hand, and regarding the criticisms of Más Madrid on the low percentage of rental apartments, sources from the Ministry of Housing point out that “this is the minimum that the General Plan of Madrid obliges us to, and not the Sepes urban planning initiative.” They explain without providing the final percentage.
Price: apartments around 200,000 euros
Regarding the prices that the houses that will be built could reach, housing sources point out that for a house of 70 square meters, the rental price will be close to 540 euros per month, given that the square meter in Madrid is 9 euros, but to establish it, the reference index of rental prices that the government created a few months ago will be used.
Regarding the cost of the apartments that will be sold, Housing indicated that it could be around 200,000 euros, with current references, although this is still a price that has yet to be determined. Likewise, the ministry stressed that private developers who join this public initiative will be able to maintain a profitability “of 7%”, but they must ensure that housing prices are affordable.
On the other hand, Housing indicated that the burial of the A-5 will be done in two sections: the first, which is in charge of the City Hall, begins its work in October. And section 2, which will reach Avenida de la Aviación, will have the participation of the national government.
Sepes will give the Madrid City Council 3 million euros for the development of the metro project, which the Madrid City Council must put into service in 30 months. From there, the start of work on this second section must begin within a maximum period of 12 months. In addition, the Ministry of Housing will cover 25% of the cost of the second phase of the burial, up to Avenida de la Aviación, with a limit of 146 million euros.
