In the absence of a shared path for the two Valencian Community fairgrounds, the city council gathered for a plenary session with the goal of approving a new framework. A limited company is to take charge of managing the Institución Ferial Alicantina, which will be renamed Fira Alacant SA. The plan places responsibility for the enterprise on the Treasury, moving forward despite opposition from the Ministry of Economy and the owner involved, Rafa Climent, and Arcadi. The green light was given to the project even as questions remained about the overall cost to Spain. The resurfacing of Feria Valencia’s status has been postponed by at least a week due to ongoing disagreements between the Economy department and the Valencian Community Business Confederation over representation in the management company. The stalemate reflects broader tensions about who should steer the region’s major trade events and how they should be funded and governed.
Consell comes to the rescue of IFA and will assume all the debt to ensure its viability.
On Thursday, ahead of the planned plenary session on Friday, the Consell approved a strategic move to create a new corporate structure named Fira Alacant, preserving the essential objective of consolidating the capital of the Túria as originally outlined. The edict outlines a dissolution of the existing Instituto Ferial Alicantino without liquidation, followed by the birth of a new anonymous society with a capital of sixty thousand euros fully backed by the Generalitat. The minister in charge of fairs, Rafa Climent, is slated to be appointed chair of the board of directors, positioning the ministry at the helm of governance and oversight. The governance framework calls for a broad board of directors, designed to reflect a balance of regional and local representation so that the diverse interests surrounding the fairs can be coordinated within a clear legal structure.
According to the statute, the board will comprise sixteen members, with the Consell’s general assembly required to endorse the arrangement on the coming Friday. Nine seats will be filled by appointees from the Valencian Government, two by the Council of Chambers’ proposal, two by the CEV, and one by Diputación; Alicante and Elche will each appoint one representative. The text also contemplates the appointment of two vice presidents should the position of minister not be filled at the time of formation. The assembly will be expected to maintain gender parity in its composition, further embedding fairness and representation into the governance model. These design choices are intended to ensure the new body can operate with stability and legitimacy, even as it absorbs the existing obligations of the old entity.
With this decisive policy step, the Generalitat signals a renewed commitment to the fair sector while cleaning up the financial exposure that has loomed over IFA. The historical liquidity crunch that began in mid-2017, marked by a debt of around 76 million euros and continued enforcement actions over unpaid municipal taxes, underscores the urgency of a clean transition. The investment and restructuring plan aims to shield the fair ecosystem from similar distress in the future, ensuring that large-scale exhibitions and related activities can proceed without the looming threat of insolvency. The broader objective is to stabilize the sector, safeguard regional economic activity linked to fairs, and restore confidence among exhibitors, visitors, and staff alike, all while aligning governance with contemporary transparency standards.