The procedures for the LP-2 El Remo-La Zamora bypass in La Palma have expired

The Vice-Ministry of Infrastructure of the Government of the Canary Islands has declared the expiration of the public information and consultation procedures for the layout and construction project “LP-2. El Remo-La Zamora Bypass. Fuencaliente”, on the island of La Palma, as more than one year has passed since their completion without the file being forwarded to the environmental body. This decision is detailed in the Resolution of July 7, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) no. 173, dated August 28, 2026 (official reference: 3092).

The project, promoted by the Ministry of Public Works, Housing, and Mobility, was technically approved via Order no. 222/2024, of September 30, which ordered it to be submitted for public information and consultations prior to its final approval. The public information process was initiated by Resolution no. 120/2024, of November 18, from the Vice-Minister of Infrastructure, for a period of thirty (30) business days, and was announced in BOC no. 241, of December 3, 2024.

An annual deadline that expired without transfer to the environmental body

The public information and consultation period concluded on February 14, 2025, the date on which the allegations and reports received were transferred to the General Directorate of Road Infrastructure. Pursuant to Article 33.3 of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment, such procedures remain valid for one year from their completion, a deadline that expired on February 14, 2026, without record of the file being sent to the environmental body for the ordinary environmental impact assessment.

The resolution emphasizes that the expiration applies exclusively to the public information and consultation procedures carried out, which have lost their legal validity and cannot serve as a basis for the submission of the file nor for the continuation of the environmental assessment.

What the expiration implies for the project

If the public interest in the action persists, the public information and consultation procedures must be carried out again in accordance with Articles 36 and 37 of Law 21/2013, using the updated documentation that may be appropriate. The provision for expiration responds to the requirement for current public participation procedures, which, when separated by more than a year from the submission to the environmental body, lack the capacity to support the environmental analysis.

• The public information process was open for 30 business days from its publication in the BOC.
• Consultations were conducted with the affected public administrations and private individuals.
• The annual validity period ended on February 14, 2026.
• The resolution will be communicated to the competent environmental body in accordance with Article 3.4 of Law 21/2013.

An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed against this resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies, before the Minister of Public Works, Housing and Mobility within a period of one (1) month, in accordance with articles 121 and concordant articles of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure. The resolution is signed by the Vice-Minister of Infrastructure, Francisco Javier González Díaz.

The expiration entails a new delay for a road infrastructure considered key for the connectivity of the municipality of Fuencaliente, in the south of La Palma, as it requires repeating the public participation procedures and consultations before the project can move toward its final approval and subsequent execution.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 173, August 28, 2026, III. Other Resolutions, pgs. 33495-33498 (official reference: Resolution 3092).