The mayor of Sagunto City Council, Dario Moreno, and the delegate of Red Eléctrica de España in the Valencian Community, Maite Vela, inaugurated today the restoration of the Grau Vell defensive complex, a set of fortifications built during the 16th and 18th centuries in whose rehabilitation the company has invested more than €490,000.

This defensive complex, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Monument category in 2003, is located in the old port of Sagunto and is made up of a tower-rampart and commercial warehouses, among other buildings, thus constituting a unique example in the Valencian community of a grau, open beaches on which a watchtower or fortification was built.

The rehabilitation work on the Grau Vell Tower and the Fort, carried out under a collaboration agreement signed between the Council and Red Eléctrica in 2014, has focused on halting the deterioration that could lead to its collapse and making this monument visitable to highlight its importance from an architectural, historical point of view and as part of the landscape.

Specifically, the tower, the artillery battery and the shelter from the Civil War have been restored, in addition to recovering the old moat that surrounds the battery and rebuilding the adjacent walls, as well as installing electrical lighting and building stairs to allow access. In addition, the rear courtyard of the Fort has been adapted as a public square for access to the site and work has been carried out to recover the north warehouse, repairing the roof and supporting structure, and to restore the front and interior spaces, where historical paving and carpentry have been used.

The Mayor of Sagunto, Dario Moreno, believes that this complex is part of the city's history, as one can see how Sagunto's relationship with the sea has evolved both in terms of defence and from a commercial point of view, and what it has meant for the city. "It was an obligation on the part of the Town Hall to highlight an architectural jewel such as this", explained the Mayor, who thanked the regional delegate of Red Eléctrica for her visit and for her willingness to help Sagunto to promote this complex. The mayor remarked that the first steps of this project were taken in 2007 and that it was during the previous term of office that gave the the final push to the project. "If we are here today it is thanks to the collaboration of many people, who have made it possible for us to achieve an optimum condition for the site, which will encourage many people to visit this part of our city when the restoration work is completed".

For her part, the regional delegate of Red Eléctrica, Maite Vela, highlighted the importance of promoting the historical memory of the Valencian Community through the restoration of its historical heritage. "The sustainable development of our country requires the vindication of its culture, and to this end it is necessary to invest resources in the conservation of the historical and environmental heritage of the territory", emphasised Vela, who also indicated that "it is just as important to promote infrastructures for the development of the region as it is to preserve its historical legacy".

Vela also pointed out that this autonomous region “is immersed in the deployment of new electrical installations that are essential for its economic development, infrastructures that aim to integrate new renewable generation capacity and the development of the railway network, among others”.

As the company in charge of developing the transmission grid in Spain, Red Eléctrica will invest €118 million in the Valencian Community between 2021 and 2023 for the construction of new electrical infrastructures to accelerate the energy transition and drive the productive sectors. Among the new installations planned, the most important are the construction of three new substations in El Serrallo, Sancho Llop and Castalla, as well as the respective 220 kilovolt (kV) supply lines, which are essential for the industrial activation of the provinces of Castellón, Valencia and Alicante, respectively.

From 2015 to 2019, the company allocated a total of €270 million to the development of its electricity transmission grid in the Valencian Community, which has 2,408 km of line circuit and 508 positions in 220 and 400 kV electricity substations at the end of 2019, a year in which 19.5% of the electricity generated in the region came from renewable sources.