tourism
The 8.4 million euro tourism project was presented earlier this week and was well received by the board of directors
02.07.09 - 18:27 -
PRESENTATION. A virtual image of the prototype coastal observatory. / SUR
Restoration of the old town centres
The aim of the Plan Qualifica is to modernise the Costa del Sol as a tourism destination, and it is running ahead of schedule. Most of the complex planning and administrative work has been finished, and we will begin to see tangible results before the present year ends. Already shown earlier this week were the architects’ models of the new coastal observatories to be built as part of the plan. These mini-piers will be built in eight municipalities along the coastline, and each one will have its own maritime theme.
The initiative was welcomed by the mayors, the business community and other local administrative bodies of the municipalities in question. It is hoped that such an initiative will help promote tourism in these areas and provide visitors with one more attraction on the Costa del Sol.
These municipalities are Benalmádena, Casares, Estepona, Fuengirola, Manilva, Marbella, Mijas and Torremolinos, and it is these Town Halls who will decide on the particular theme for their own maritime observatory. Stressing that he was not attempting to promote any specific theme, the Delegate for Tourism, Commerce and Sport in the Junta de Andalucía, Luciano Alonso, said that an example of a typical theme might be traditional fishing or gastronomy. “The idea is that each of these observatories is different, and tourists who visit one will then want to visit them all,” he said.
By land and sea
The idea is original in another way too, and that is that the observatories can be visited on foot or by sea. A structure similar to a groyne will link the platform with the shore, and those who wish to do so will be able to walk along the top of the groyne to visit the observatory. A fleet of small boats will be on hand to take people out by sea from the beaches, we were told by Luciano Alonso, who added that once the paperwork is complete, work will go ahead without delay.
The Junta’s Tourism Delegate was unable to say exactly how big the observatories would be or how far they would go out to sea, or how much they would cost to build. “So far we have not gone into the finer details of the plan, but the team made up of Estudio Pereda 4, Consulmina, GMM Consultores Turísticos and Mecsaa have been working hard on this,” he said.
He did, however, have some information about total investment, telling us that the Plan Qualifica had 70 million euros invested in it, and given the excellent relationship between his Delegation and the Secretary of State for Tourism, he did not expect too many problems in raising the money needed to see the various projects through. He added that he was having talks with the Coasts department about obtaining the necessary permits to allow the work to go ahead.
At the presentation that took place earlier in the week, the green light was given to the plans already drawn up for each of the eight municipalities forming part of the Plan Qualifica, and 8.4 million euros has been put aside in investment for the projects. As soon as the plans have been approved, the mayors will submit them for tender, so that work can begin at the beginning of October of this year.
Work on the beach of Sabinillas in Manilva will involve the continuation of the esplanade in the La Colonia and the Port of La Duquesa, as well as improvement work being carried out on the Casares beach. The Port of Estepona will also be improved with better access to the town centre, while in Marbella, work will be done on the beach at the mouth of the Guadaiza River. Other projects include landscaping and work on the beach in Calahonda, Mijas; the building of a riverside park on the last section of the Fuengirola River, and improvements to the esplanade in Benalmádena and the beaches in Torremolinos.
