Last July 5, the ceremony for the start of the works of the new Iberóleo oil production plant in Paredes de Nava (Palencia) was held. The project, owned by Iberecológica Group, will have a total investment of 80 million euros and will be developed over the next four years.

Iberóleo’s oil production plant, with an estimated capacity of 200,000 tonnes of refined oil per year, stands out as the first circular economy project in Spain for the refining and bottling of olive oil, as well as for the extraction, refining and bottling of seed oils, mainly sunflower and rapeseed oils. The plant, located on a plot of 150,000 m2, will have direct access to the CL-613 road and will have a rail connection thanks to a new intermodal freight terminal.

The development of the plant will be carried out in three phases and will be completed in 2028. The first phase will conclude with the start-up, scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, of the first ‘Zero Emissions Olive Oil’ refinery, which will have a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, olive oil storage tanks, a social building and a biomass plant. The second phase, scheduled to be completed in December 2026, will include a bottling plant and the intermodal loading station for the import of raw materials and the export of products. The third phase, scheduled to be commissioned in September 2028, will comprise an extraction plant with the capacity to process 500 tonnes of seeds daily, a seed unloading, drying and storage station in silos and a second Zero Emissions Seed Oil refinery, with a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year.  a state-of-the-art autonomous logistics warehouse, and seed oil storage tanks.

The services developed by IDP include the basic project, executive project, property engineering and integrated construction management. All this will be carried out using the BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology.

The event was attended by Gerardo Dueñas, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development of Castilla y León; María de los Ángeles Armisén, President of the Provincial Council of Palencia; Ángel Domingo Miguel, sub-delegate of the Government in Palencia; and Gregorio Álvarez, president and founder of Iberecológica. During their speeches at the ‘Jorge Manrique’ Performing Arts Centre, all of them highlighted the importance of collaboration between public administrations, local communities and companies to establish a sustainable growth model. This initiative, in addition to producing sustainable oils, is presented as a viable solution to revitalize the economy of the area, generate quality employment and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.