Public works

More than 60 per cent of the pipes and cables along Almuñécar promenade have been replaced

The Costa Tropical town hall remains committed to completing the La Caletilla project in the first quarter of 2027, despite the unexpected discovery of a rock that forced them to find an alternative solution

MJ Arrebola

Granada

06/08/2026 a las 13:19h.

Almuñécar town hall on Granada province's Costa Tropical has said it is "making good progress" with the project to replace underground pipes along Paseo ... de la Caletilla. The work, which began in April, is now more than 60 per cent complete in terms of replacing all the pipes running beneath the promenade.

The project involves replacing the water supply network, the sewerage system, the outfall that carries seawater to the aquarium, the telecommunications cables and also the low-voltage power line that supplies the buildings in the area.

A problem arose in late June while workers were excavating the area when a large rock was discovered exactly where the new sewer pipe was to be laid, at a depth of more than two metres. No prior geotechnical survey had been carried out as it lay outside the scope of the project, leading to a setback in the project.

The teams began chipping away at the rock, but when they reached a depth of around 60 centimetres, they came up against the hardest part of the rock, which would have required the use of much heavier machinery to continue breaking it up.

Ready by Easter 2027

Just above that rock there is a building and using machinery to chisel away at the rock could have put it at risk. The technical team examined all the options and decided that, rather than breaking up the rock – which was around 12 metres long – they would thoroughly clean the old sewer pipe and insert an elastic sleeve into it to act as a new lining, thereby making full use of the existing pipe’s diameter without the need for further excavation.

According to councillor for public works Francisco Rodríguez, the pipe will be cleaned using specialised equipment in early September, when usage of the sewerage system drops after the summer, as this network collects wastewater from that entire area of the municipality, from Peñón del Castillo to Peñón del Santo.

Despite the setback caused by the rock, the work is progressing "at a good pace", according to the town hall. The work is expected to be completed by February or March at the latest, which means the promenade should be ready in time for Easter 2027.