Badajoz opens public consultation for the expansion of super-intensive olive groves

The Regional Ministry of Industry, Energy, Science and Territory of the Junta de Extremadura has opened for public consultation the environmental impact study for the expansion project of a super-intensive olive grove that the developer Nanzer, SL plans to locate in the “Cincho de Enmedio” area, in the municipality of Badajoz. The announcement, signed on July 30, 2026, by the Director General of Sustainable Management and Forestry Policy, Juan Eloy Rodríguez Ucedo, is published in the Official Gazette of Extremadura number 170, dated September 2, 2026, and opens a 30-day period for submitting allegations.

The initiative, processed under file IA25/0849, is subject to an ordinary environmental impact assessment as it is included in Annex I, group 1, point c), of Royal Decree 445/2023, of June 13, which modifies the annexes of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment. The procedure is governed by Article 66 of Law 16/2015, of April 23, on environmental protection of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura.

The project and its scope

The action consists of expanding the irrigation water concession 51/15 CONC(100/2025) to irrigate a super-intensive olive grove. The area included in the current concession is 90.87 hectares, which will be expanded by 20 hectares to reach a total of 110.87 hectares of drip irrigation, on land dedicated to olive groves according to SIGPAC in plots 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of polygon 674.

The irrigation water comes from two sources:

• Groundwater, captured via a borehole located on the estate itself, in plot 13 of polygon 674.
• Surface water from the Guadiana river, taken via the Montijo Canal under concession 51/15, without modifying the intake point, the flow rate, or the granted volume.

The surface water is accumulated in a regulation pond with a capacity of 3,000 m³ located in plot 8, from where it will be pumped to the irrigation head and distributed to eleven sectors through a drip irrigation network.

Competent bodies

The granting of the water concession corresponds to the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, while the planning of hydraulic resources with agricultural interest falls to the General Directorate of Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure of the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Environment. The environmental impact statement corresponds to the General Directorate of Sustainable Management and Forestry Policy, in accordance with Article 17.6 of Decree 18/2026, of April 30.

How to participate

During the 30-day period, counted from the day following the publication of the announcement, natural or legal persons may examine the study and submit suggestions and allegations. The document will be available on the electronic office of the environmental body, at extremambiente.gobex.es, and allegations may be addressed to the Environmental Prevention, Quality and Climate Change Service, at the locations provided for in Article 7 of Decree 257/2009 and in Article 16.4 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure.

The environmental impact statement that is eventually issued will produce, in its own terms, the effects of rural classification, accrediting the urban planning suitability of the lands on which the activity is intended to be implemented, as provided for in Article 71.3 of Law 16/2015. The expansion of this super-intensive olive grove in the region of Badajoz, with its consequent demand for irrigation water, makes this file a matter of interest for farmers, neighbors, and environmental groups in the area, who have one month to assert their observations before the regional administration.

Source: Official Gazette of Extremadura, no. 170, September 2, 2026, section IV (Announcements) (official reference: 2026081468).