The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, co-chaired today, in Valencia, together with the President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca, the constitutive session of the Joint Commission for Reconstruction and Recovery after the damage caused in the Valencian Community by DANA.

In this first meeting, held in the castle of Riba-roja del Turia and in which the affected municipalities have also participated, four specific working groups have been created on mental health, hydraulic infrastructures, emergencies and protection of Natural Parks.

The minister pointed out that this call “is an example of cooperation between administrations”, which aims to respond in a “coordinated and efficient” way for the reconstruction of the areas damaged by DANA, on October 28, 2024, in the Valencian Community.

Torres, who has been accompanied by the Secretary of State for Territorial Policy, Arcadi España; the delegate of the Government of Spain in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé; and the Commissioner for Reconstruction by DANA, Zulima Pérez, recalled that “From the beginning of this exceptional situation, a permanent coordination was articulated between the Government of Spain, the Generalitat Valenciana and all the public administrations involved”, which materialized, on the part of the Government of Spain, in a constant presence, both in the emergency and in the reconstruction.

Thus, Torres has indicated that in the first days he had the presence of two ministers, both of the Interior (Fernando Grande-Marlaska), and of himself, in the CECOPI (Integrated Operational Coordination Center). In addition, five working groups were created, with the competent ministers and ministers. To this were added meetings with the mayors and mayors, both of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and of the minister himself. In addition, multiple meetings of the Commissioner have been held with representatives of the Generalitat and local municipal entities; and a Committee of Experts has been created.

The minister stressed that “on this basis of cooperation and collaboration, this Joint Commission has been constituted, as an additional mechanism added to the existing ones for the submission of proposals and the rendering of accounts by all the administrations involved in the reconstruction”.

As a result of the meeting held today, where the use of the Joint Commission has been concretized in aspects with shared competences, a permanent follow-up committee and four working groups have been created.

Mental Health responds to the demands of the associations of victims. A working group of Water Infrastructure, Flood Parks, Territory, Urbanism, Environment, Cultural Heritage has also been formed in order to make the necessary infrastructures to be more resilient to this type of phenomenon. The third group is that of Emergencies, since it is essential that the protocols of action are clear. And finally, the Natural Parks (Albufera and Turia).

Visit to the works in Torrent

Prior to the Joint Commission, the minister visited the reconstruction works of the Júcar-Turia canal, in Torrent, which are being executed by the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) with a global budget of 30 million euros. This action is essential to guarantee the water supply to 2.3 million people in València, its metropolitan area, the Ribera and the Camp de Morvedre.

In addition, the canal provides irrigation flows of 25,000 hectares, managed by about twenty Irrigating Communities, which bring together more than 35,000 users.

The aqueduct of l’Horteta was destroyed by the force of the avenue, which forced an immediate intervention. The CHJ re-established the service in a matter of days by means of a temporary bypass and subsequently installed a temporary aqueduct in lattice that allowed the supply to be maintained without interruptions during the critical weeks following the storm.