Benasque's full council approves the public gondola lift Benasque-Cerler

The Plenary gives the green light to the Benasque-Cerler gondola lift

The Plenary of the Benasque City Council initially approved, at an extraordinary session held on 14 August 2026, the creation of a public gondola lift transport service between the towns of Benasque and Cerler. The agreement, published under reference BOPH-2026-155001 in issue number 155 of the Official Bulletin of the Province of Huesca, dated 17 August 2026, promotes a first-class tourism and mobility project in the Aragonese Pyrenees.

The decision falls within the framework of File 1549578R and entails the initial approval of the provision of the urban public gondola lift transport service, as well as its management through a service contract for the years 2026, 2027 and 2028. The text specifies that this administrative act does not imply the immediate commissioning for public use, but rather opens the development procedure towards that goal.

A year and a half of prior work

The path towards initial approval began on 30 July 2025, when the Plenary of the Benasque City Council agreed to create a Study Commission on the establishment of the public gondola lift transport service between Benasque and Cerler under a system of open competition. This commission worked for more than a year before submitting its proposal to the Plenary.

The Commission had two specialised advisors who prepared the key documents for the decision:

• David Navarro Calvo, lawyer and legal advisory member, responsible for the supporting report on the appropriateness of its establishment by the Benasque City Council and the possible management alternatives for the service.
• Fernando Oliván Avilés, industrial engineer and technical advisory member, responsible for the economic-financial feasibility study of the public gondola lift transport service between the two towns.

The Commission held its final session on 10 August 2026, in which it agreed to submit the proposal for approval by the Plenary.

The voting outcome and administrative steps

The vote on the agreement reflected broad consensus in the Plenary. The proposal was approved with 7 votes in favour (4 from the PP and 3 from the PAR), no votes against, and 4 abstentions from the PSOE.

In addition to the initial approval of the service, the agreement provides for the initiation of two independent administrative procedures to be carried out in parallel:

• Approval of the regulations governing the legal framework and user charter of the service, with prior public consultation in accordance with Article 133.1 of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
• Approval of the ordinance regulating the public price to be charged to users of the service, also with prior public consultation.

Public information and deadlines

The file is subject to public information for a period of one month, starting from its publication in the Official Gazette of Aragon, Huesca Section, in accordance with article 205 b) of Law 7/1999, of 9 April, on Local Administration of Aragon. Interested parties may consult the documentation on the electronic headquarters of the Benasque City Council (https://benasque.sedipualba.es/).

The agreement is based on articles 7, 21.1.s), 22.2.f), 25, 26, 47.2.k), 85 and 86.1 of Law 7/1985, of 2 April, Regulating the Bases of Local Government; on articles 29.1.j), 42 and 199 to 217 of Law 7/1999, of 9 April, on Local Administration of Aragon; and on articles 203 and 205 to 316 of the Regulations on Assets, Activities, Services and Works of Local Entities of Aragon, approved by Decree 347/2002, of 19 November, of the Government of Aragon.

Relevance for the Aragonese Pyrenees

The Benasque-Cerler gondola lift becomes a reference infrastructure for sustainable mobility in Alto Aragon. Its initial approval marks a milestone in the connection between the town of Benasque and the Cerler ski resort, with the potential to transform the tourist experience of the area and improve the quality of life of residents and visitors of the Esera Valley. The agreement, signed by the mayor-president Manuel Mora Bernat in Benasque on 14 August 2026, now opens a period of citizen participation that will define the final conditions of the service.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca, No. 155, 17 August 2026, Local Administration Section, pp. 3-4 (official reference: BOPH-2026-155001).