Benasque definitively approves the Cerler cable car and dismisses the objections

The Plenary of the Benasque City Council definitively approved on October 9, 2026, the creation of the municipal public transport service via cable car between Benasque and Cerler, after resolving the allegations presented during the public information process. The agreement, adopted by an absolute majority, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca number 199, dated Friday, October 16, 2026, in the Local Administration section, with the official reference BOPH-2026-199007 and file 1549578R.

The decision culminates a procedure initiated on July 30, 2025, when the Plenary agreed to create a Study Commission on the establishment of the service under an open competition regime. On August 7, 2026, the justifying report and the economic-financial feasibility study were added to the file, which the Study Commission submitted as a proposal on August 10. The Plenary initially approved the establishment on August 14, 2026, and submitted the file for public information via an announcement published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca on August 17, 2026, with an exhibition period extending from August 17 to September 18, 2026.

A complementary service managed by contract

The definitively approved agreement establishes that the Benasque City Council assumes the urban public transport service via cable car and its management through a service contract at the start of the provision, without this act implying the commencement of service for public use. The legal basis invokes articles 42.1 and 42.2 m) of Law 7/1999, of April 9, on Local Administration of Aragon, and articles 199 to 217 of the same regulation, among other provisions.

The service is conceived as complementary to other existing means of transport, based on voluntary request or reception, and does not replace the current links between the two centers. The bidding for the management, if promoted, will be the subject of a subsequent contractual file in accordance with Law 9/2017, of November 8, on Public Sector Contracts.

Six dismissed allegations

During the public information period, six submissions were presented, all of which were dismissed according to the proposal reports approved by the Study Commission on October 6, 2026:

• Registration No. 3667 – ASOC SOS Ribagorza, Ricardo Sánchez Andrés (representative), 08/27/2026.
• Registration No. 3696 – Carlos Molina Gallego, 08/31/2026.
• Registration No. 3699 – Pilar Llamas Zúñiga, 08/31/2026.
• Registration No. 3748 – Juan María Gascón Vallés, 09/03/2026.
• Registration No. 3819 – Fomento y Desarrollo del Valle de Benasque, SA, Ignacio Eduardo García Gómez (representative), 09/10/2026.
• Registration No. 3990 – ASOC SOS Ribagorza, Ricardo Sánchez Andrés (representative), 09/17/2026.

The appellants questioned the sufficiency of the information, the acoustic impact, flood risk, access and parking, environmental monitoring, safety and evacuation, financing, and the legal status of the project. The City Council responds that the approval of the establishment neither replaces nor anticipates the authorization for the commissioning of the facility.

Study Figures and Regional Financing

The feasibility study is based on a seasonal operation scenario of 188 days and 1,908 hours per season, with an initial demand of 100,000 users and a potential market of between 250,000 and 300,000. The viability threshold is set at 80% of the projected demand, and the nominal capacity of the system is 2,400 people per hour.

• Projected annual operating costs for 2027: €921,508.04 (VAT included) with management via an organization dependent on the City Council; €880,727.62 (VAT included) with the contracting of a non-municipal entity.
• Estimated advertising revenue: between 125,000 and 300,000 euros annually (VAT not included).
• Grant from the Government of Aragon by Order of the Councilor for Housing, Development, Logistics, and Territorial Cohesion of 7/27/2026: €678,510.54 for the 2026 fiscal year.
• Multi-year grant by Order of 7/31/2026: €1,723,537.84 for 2027 and 2028, with an eligibility period from January 1, 2027, to April 16, 2028.

The Shadow of Judgment 86/2025

The file acknowledges that Judgment No. 86/2025, issued on October 14, 2025, by the Court of First Instance of Huesca in ordinary proceeding 221/24, annulled the plenary agreement of May 15, 2024, which approved the ordinary works project for the cable car, due to deficiencies in the economic feasibility study, the geotechnical study, and the location of the departure station in a flood-prone area. The judgment is not final: it was appealed, tracked under number 4/26 before the First Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Aragon.

In parallel, the Plenary initially approved the Service Regulatory Regulations on October 15, 2026, published in the same bulletin under reference BOPH-2026-199008, which opens a thirty-business-day period for public information. The agreement is signed by the Mayor-President, Manuel Mora Bernat, in Benasque on October 13, 2026.

The final approval clears the administrative path for the Benasque City Council to assume the service and tender its management, but it does not yet enable the public use of the facility: commissioning will depend on sectoral authorizations and the contract that is eventually formalized, with the judicial appeal still pending as the main uncertainty for residents and businesses of the Benasque Valley.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca, no. 199, October 16, 2026, Local Administration, page 20 (official reference: BOPH-2026-199007).