The South Metropolitan Territorial Management (GTMS) and IDIBELL, Bellvitge University Hospital, and ICO participated in the first meeting of the working table of the Biopol-Granvia Urban Master Plan of the Hospitalet de Llobregat, which was held on March 17. Dr. Montserrat Figuerola, manager of the South Metropolitan Territorial area, was present at the meeting with Dr. Gabriel Capellá, director of IDIBELL, and Tarsi Ferro, director of Quality and Innovation at ICO.

In this first meeting of the Working Table, the citizen participatory process was also presented. This process aims to achieve maximum consensus and involvement of the citizens in this strategic project with a supra-municipal scope. The project aims to promote the cluster of activities linked to biomedical research around the Granvia axis.

The creation of the table and the participatory process were approved by the Plenary Session of the Hospitalet City Council on June 20, 2021.

The urban approach aims to economically develop IDIBELL, Bellvitge Hospital, ICO, and Barcelona University surroundings to enable the implementation of a cluster of companies linked to biomedicine and health sciences. The urban development entails the transformation and partial burying of the central segment of the Granvia, as well as some of its links. In addition, it will be implemented new green areas and the improvement of the connection of the city with the river environment of the Llobregat.

The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.

IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).