Andorra Completes Carrying Capacity Reports for All Parishes After Escaldes-Engordany Delay

The Andorran government has completed the mandatory and binding reports on maximum carrying capacity studies for all seven parishes by validating the submission from Escaldes-Engordany, the final one outstanding.

Minister Spokesperson Guillem Casal announced the development at a press conference after the Council of Ministers meeting. The reports, mandated by Law 32/2022 to support sustainable urban and tourism growth, assess whether key infrastructure—including water supply, wastewater treatment, energy distribution, waste management, mobility, land and stone handling, and other facilities—can handle projected population increases over the next decade.

"The key point is that we received the study and could finalize the process. The government has closed the circle," Casal stated. He declined to elaborate on Escaldes-Engordany's delay in submitting supplementary documentation, adding, "I understand the commune may have had its reasons."

With reports now issued for all parishes—the others approved earlier in June—responsibility passes to the communes for final approval and incorporation into their urban planning. Casal emphasized the studies' value in providing an objective baseline of current population trends to guide policies, while stressing they are not static and will require periodic updates.

He also reaffirmed political backing to merge the parish reports with a separate Ministry of Tourism study, creating a single national territorial planning tool. The initiative has been shared with the communes and the General Council's relevant commission, where there is readiness to proceed.

The process had generated tension in recent weeks, as the government pointed to Escaldes-Engordany as the only holdout on complete data. Early in June, Casal linked the delay to the commune's working approach, prompting criticism from Cònsol Rosa Gili, who described it as repeated attacks and regretted the absence of direct contact before public comments.