News
Pool repairs
Nerja Town Hall has awarded a €196,000
contract for repairs to the town’s indoor
swimming pool. The work, expected to
start this month, has gone to Modo Castle
S.L. and is expected to take 45 days to
complete. The facility at the Ciudad
Deportiva Enrique López Cuenca opened
in May 2007 but was closed in April 2018
when leaks from the roof caused hazards
for users.
Cargo success
The goods route from Málaga to Canada
via Tangiers is exceeding the expectations
of its German operator, Hapag-Lloyd. In
additional to foodstuff, high value
industrial and technical cargos are being
transported by train to Málaga, and then by
sea to Morocco and on to Canada. The
group has seen business up by ten per cent
on their forecasts when they recently
started operating the route.
New bridge
Work continued throughout December on
a new wooden bridge across the mouth of
the Guadalhorce River in Málaga. The 270
metre crossing will form part of the coastal
footpath presently being developed along
the coast of the province. The €1.6 million
project is being funded equally by the
Provincial Government and the City of
Málaga, and is expected to open towards
the end of this month.
Express licences
Nerja is planning to introduce “express
licences” for construction work which does
not have to be formally approved as a
“project.” Proposals for changes to the by-
laws on the concession of construction
licences went on public display at the town
hall last month. The councillor responsible,
Nieves Atencia, said her department was
working to make the necessary procedures
“faster and more efficient.”
Home promised
Nerja’s mayor, José Albert Armijo, has
promised that the town will provide a
residential home for adults with serious
intellectual disabilities. He told a meeting
attended by Antonio Contreras, president
of the Asociación Taller de la Amistad, that
work was underway to find a suitable site
and the necessary finance. He also
confirmed that a grant of €35,000 pending
from 2018 is now to be made to the group.
Lighthouse plan
The lighthouse in Torrox may soon be
partly open to the public. Meetings have
been held between local councillors and the
Málaga Ports Authority to discuss the
proposal. However, it has already been
decided that the upper levels will remain
closed for security reasons.
Two important Nerja
projects
Two major projects in Nerja which
have been suspended for some time
may now be moved forward. A new
health centre for the town and a major
beach development have been the
subject of meetings between Town Hall
representatives and the regional and
national governments.
It was in 2009 when Nerja offered to
make land available for the
construction of a new health centre,
replacing the present building which is
now over 50 years old. However, after
the town spent €500,000 on
preparations at the 3,733 square metre
site on the banks of the Chillar river,
no further progress was made and the
land has since been used for car
parking.
Now, the mayor, José Albert Armijo,
says that plans are finally underway for
the town formally to cede the land to
the regional health authority as the site
for the new health centre. He described
the news as demonstrating the “will” of
the new Partido Popular administration
in Andalucía to build the new facility,
“which the people of Nerja have been
anticipating for ten years.”
In February 2017, an alternative site on
the N-340 near the Supersol
supermarket was reported to have been
selected for the new health centre, but
José Albert Armijo
a year later, the Junta de Andalucía,
then under control of the socialist
PSOE party, announced funding would
be delayed until 2019.
Meanwhile, after a meeting in Madrid
last month, mayor José Albert Armijo
says the development of El Playazo
beach, on the town’s western edge, is
likely to get underway again.
Central government now appears to be
in favour of moving forward with plans
to create 70,000 square metres of
beach space and the creation of a paseo
marítimo along its length. The project
remains pending until funds are made
available in the General State Budget.
Nerja roads upgrades
Nerja Town Hall has approved
upgrades and improvements to a
number of streets in the municipality.
A total of almost €301,000 has been
earmarked for the project, financed
through the Financially Sustainable
Investment Plan of the provincial
government, the Diputación de Málaga.
Included are the pavement and
roadway of Avenida de la Constitución,
around the Almijara I urbanization,
with a budget of €190,000 to cover
new street lighting and green areas.
Also to be tackled are calles Solana,
Sorolla and Zuloaga, with a budget of
€120,000 which will see improved
lighting, drainage and road signs.
The Town Hall hopes to award a
16
contract to undertake these projects
quickly so that the work can start as
soon as possible.
Shopping upgrade
Vélez-Málaga Town Hall has given the
green light to proposed developments
at the El Ingenio shopping centre
which opened in November 2000. The
Larios group which owns the site is
expected to invest €15 million in
internal and external upgrades. They
say the work is necessary “to face new
market challenges, with new
competitors and different consumption
habits, mainly as a result of the rise of
electronic commerce and new
technologies.”