The Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT Madrid) has ended its plan to lease the facilities of the La Elipa Operations Center for 20 years. Instead, the Madrid City Council has announced the tender for the project and its construction, as officially communicated. This strategic shift follows the failure of the initial bidding process.
The estimated cost of the project has been significantly reduced, from 366 million euros to 134 million euros (excluding taxes). The works, expected to commence if the new tender is successful, will have an execution period of 32 months. This timeframe includes five months for project drafting, 24 months for construction, and a final three months for commissioning and obtaining permits.
The new facilities in La Elipa will be designed to accommodate 318 electric buses. They will cover an area of 32,200 m² and feature 4,732 photovoltaic panels on the roof, capable of generating over 2 megawatts (MW) of power. This will contribute to the center's energy efficiency and zero-emission goals. 318 pantographs will be installed for charging the buses, including 20 articulated ones, along with an electrical substation of up to 20 MW to ensure efficient recharging.
The renunciation of privatization offers a prospect for the 1,240 employees who were relocated in March 2022 from La Elipa to the garages in Fuencarral. The move was due to the announced renovation and electrification of the facilities, which have seen little progress since then at the site inaugurated in 1971.
The halt in activity at the garages has occurred in two distinct phases. Until the end of 2024, the City Council attributed delays to an "decontamination" process of the area. Subsequently, the Consistory began preparing an outsourcing process, detailed in EMT's 2025 Contracting Plan. This plan envisioned a 20-year contract worth 400 million euros for construction, operation, and maintenance, plus another five-year monitoring contract. All these plans were ultimately canceled due to a lack of interested companies in the previous tender.
