Local
Aena prepares to set new restrictions on the height of buildings near Malaga airport
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The Repsol, Portillo, Torre del Río, La Térmica, San Rafael and Manzana Verde projects could be affected by the new limits
There are plans to costruct several tall residential, hotel and office buildings in Malaga city but some of the designs may have to be changed because the aviation authority Aena is preparing new regulations which will affect the height of buildings in areas close to the airport.
The new building projects represent over 1.3 billion euros of investment in total, and in some cases construction has already started, but Aena's restrictions could mean the buildings will have to be lower than planned. Although the pending document has not yet been approved, Aena has already recommended that Vía Célere, the developers of the 'Flex' residential complex in Avenida de Velázquez, should reduce their building from 15 storeys to 12. The architect of that project, Ángel Asenjo, is frustrated at the prospect of having to change the design and says he thinks the aviation authority is being too "conservative".
Aena says the new height restrictions are for safety reasons and are necessary due to the growth of Malaga Airport, which handled 19.8 million passengers last year. The present regulations regarding tower blocks date back to 2009, when the second runway had not yet come into operation, and the number of flights has increased exponentially in the past ten years.
Aena has not said when the new document will be ready, but it will be put on display to the public before coming into force.
Among the projects likely to be affected are developments on the land at Repsol, San Rafael, El Duende (part of the Manzana Verde project), Portillo, Torre del Río and La Térmica, some of which are 20 storeys high. None of these has been granted a works licence yet, although the 72.5-metre-high skyscraper planned in La Princesa area has.
