No funding to extend the railway line to Marbella despite previous promises

The funding for Malaga in the 2017 State Budget has now been announced, and it is the lowest so far this century. The province is due to receive approximately 138 million euros, which is about 40 per cent less than last year. Not only will this make it impossible to progress some long- awaited infrastructure improvements, but it will also stifle new projects. This is a far cry from 2008, when investment funding in Malaga totalled 1.2 billion euros.

The train to Marbella will have to be put on hold yet again, even in the format proposed by the former Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, by extending the suburban line from Fuengirola, and despite promises during the last legislature that it would be given priority. It appears that those in charge of investment funding are once again evaluating a completely new railway route from the airport, which would link up with the high speed line. The government has only allocated 350,000 euros for the coastal railway project, barely enough to pay for the studies carried out by the state-owned Cedex company.

The only noteworthy funding from the Ministry of Public Works this year is the northern access to the airport from the second bypass, which will receive 6.5 million euros. There will also be money for the A-7 link road in Fuengirola (500,000 euros). Improvements to the exit from the A-7 at Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel, one of the busiest and most dangerous on the provincial road network, will receive 422,000 euros.

On the other hand, hardly any funding has been allocated for the Bobadilla-Ronda-Algeciras freight railway line, which is key for the development of this logistical area, at least for the Malaga stretch.

At the Cadiz end, minister Íñigo de la Serna has announced an insufficient 20 million euros to remodel the stretch in Algeciras. There are still plans to carry out a study into a new bypass in the metropolitan area.

Baños del Carmen to benefit

The Ministry of Industry will pay 1.7 million euros for the Digital Content Pole (a training centre in new technologies in the audiovisual sector) in Malaga city. The Ministry of the Environment has allocated 500,000 euros to start regeneration works at the beach at Los Baños del Carmen, with specific amounts for replacing the sand, recovering coastal systems, accesses and controlling erosion of the coast. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport will only be providing 100,000 for the long-awaited State Public Library at San Agustín, while the Ministry of the Economy plans to continue work on the Oceanography Centre in Malaga Port, which have currently been suspended due to a problem with the foundations (2.15 million).

From public companies, most of the funds allocated to Malaga by Adif will be used on the Antequera-Granada high speed railway line (27.8 million), although all the works will be in Granada province because those in Malaga have already been completed. Aguas de las Cuencas Mediterráneas (Acuamed) will be providing 141,000 euros towards energy improvement at the Marbella desalination plant and funds for re-use of waste water at the treatment plants at Cerro del Águila, La Víbora and Arroyo de la Miel, all of which are on the Costa del Sol (1.7 million altogether). The pipes in Campanillas will also be improved.

The plans to improve roads and parking at the airport will be allocated 3.2 million euros from the State budget, while State ports will be providing 165,000 euros for a study into moving the freight train underground. Archidonas new prison, which is due to open this year, will receive 21.4 million, the largest amount of funding in Malaga province this year. One million euros are also earmarked for remodelling the Parador hotel in Nerja, a project which will cost eight million.

The four political parties which represent Malaga in parliament had different reactions to the news. PSOE and Podemos were the most critical. Socialist MP Miguel Ángel Heredia complained that Mariano Rajoys government had once again placed the province at the back of the queue for investment. Malaga is only going to receive a miserable one per cent of the investment in Spain. This will mean that major projects cannot be carried out, he said. Alberto Montero from Podemos said the budget represents the general tone of a government which questions the bases of recovery by not increasing the amount of investment in Malaga, and agreed that progress is being jeopardised. The coastal train continues to be nothing more than a wish. These budgets anchor us in a past of tourism and construction to which we do not want to return, he said.

PPs Carolina España, however, said that the government is maintaining its strong commitment to Malaga with budgets which are realistic, focus on giving continuity to projects which the province needs, as well as ensuring economy recovery, creating employment and greater social protection, while Guillermo Díaz, of Ciudadanos, pointed out that there had been larger budgets on paper in the past, but these had not been fulfilled. He said his group will be closely watching to make sure that the northern airport access, the Baños del Carmen and access to Arroyo de la Miel projects are carried out.