Central government reaffirms 'willingness' to hand over Costa del Sol waste water treatment plant to town hall

Spain's central government has reaffirmed its "willingness" to hand over the Nerja wastewater treatment plant to the eastern Costa del Sol town hall. The town hall has received an agreement from the government to hand over management of the facilities, which have been in operation since October 2020. However the ministry insists on charging a fee for the use of water.

Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, on Monday 12 May, reaffirmed the government's commitment to hand over the treatment plant, the construction of which involved an investment of more than 26 million euros, financed entirely by the central government.

This was Morán's response to the question asked in the Ecological Transition Commission by the mayor of the Nerja, José Alberto Armijo, who asked whether the government still "has the will to fulfil its commitment" to transfer the plant to the town hall.

Armijo accused the government of changing its mind over the management of the plant. The mayor claimed that the town hall has "received a new version" of the agreement and asked whether "this latest formula, that of the entrustment of management, is going to be the definitive one".

Morán admitted that there have been "several attempts in which there has been no possibility of approving the terms of the transfer", but added that "the parts that corresponds to the sanitation system were already ceded in 2021." He added that the ministry has no plans to manage facilities that are a municipal responsibility and explained that "as soon as the town hall approves the agreement, the latest version sent, the act of cession will be signed”.

Armijo also expressed his "concern" to Morán regarding the tariff the government wants to hand on to the town, which according to Armijo, "aims to compensate expenses, investment costs". The latest claim amounts to 5.4 million and would reach 14.8 million over the next 25 years. Armijo asked the minister of the government "intends to reconsider such an unfortunate and harmful decision".

According to Morán, "although the project is of general state interest, the work is subject to the principle of cost recovery that users have to pay in the tariff’ because the other alternative is that taxpayers pay for it, even those who do not use the facility".