Abandoibarra

Converting a shipyard, port facilities and a railway line into a spacious promenade along the Estuary, a riverside park and a privileged residential, leisure and economic activity area, was the challenge given to BILBAO Ría 2000 to lead the urban transformation of an area in decline that required an emergency plan.

Following the urban planning requirements of the Master Plan drawn up by the team formed by Cesar Pelli, Diana Balmori and Eugenio Aguinaga, winners of an International Competition for Ideas held for this purpose, the work began in 1998 and reached its first major milestone in 2003 with the simultaneous inauguration of the Abandoibarra Promenade, the Ribera del Nervión Park, the Pedro Arrupe footbridge and the updated Avenida de las Universidades.

Works, buildings and equipment were gradually built until the action was completed in September 2011 with the opening of the park in the Campa de los Ingleses. By that time, Abandoibarra had already become an icon of Bilbao’s transformation and an essential meeting point for thousands of Bilbao residents and visitors.