Contract awarded to improve recreational area of Malaga province reservoir

Following heavy rainfall in Autumn last year and spring 2025, La Viñuela reservoir in the Axarquía area of Malaga province looks very different from just a year ago, with more than triple the amount of water reserves, standing at 42 per cent of its capacity, compared to just 22 a year ago.

To enhance the environment and with the hope that the reserves will continue to improve in the coming months, Malaga's provincial authority, La Diputación de Málaga, is to invest more than 835,000 euros in the adaptation and improvement of the reservoir's recreational area.

The project was announced in January and the contract to carry out the work has been awarded to Hormigones Asfálticos Andaluces S.A., for a total of 835,576 euros and an initial completion period of 84 days. This company's bid was the highest scoring of the twelve that took part in the tender process.

The work forms part of the environmental and leisure project designed by the Diputación in the area surrounding the reservoir, which will start with the reforestation and planting of almost 35,000 trees and shrubs, as announced in February 2022. The president of the Diputación and mayor of Rincón de la Victoria, Francisco Salado, explained in a statement in January that, since its construction, the perimeter of the reservoir has served as a recreational area that brings together many people throughout the year.

In fact, there are two areas where visitors congregate: La Viñuela recreational area, in the municipality of the same name, and Las Mayoralas recreational area which is part of Periana. "These are very popular spaces, with facilities and furniture that are badly deteriorated due to use. So what we intend to do is renovate and improve these recreational areas, which are located in a natural environment of great scenic and environmental richness," Salado said.

He went on to say that the La Viñuela plan is part of a wider strategy to open up and improve "emblematic projects" including the Caminito del Rey, the Great Malaga Path, support for the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, El Saltillo footbridge, the Guadalhorce 'Green Corridor' and the 'Bike Territory' initiative to promote the municipalities of the Sierra Norte. "It is resulting in the revitalisation and development of our towns and villages," he said.

The scope of project for the La Viñuela recreational area, south of the reservoir, covers an area of 21,323.67 square metres, which has barbecues, tables, toilets, a children's playground, a dog park, lighting and waste collection. In general, all the facilities are in a state of deterioration due to use and the passage of time.

Therefore, the project, with a completion period of four months, proposes the removal of barbecues and other items that are unused or badly damaged; the replacement of picnic tables and benches; the creation of new garden areas and the planting of Mediterranean shrubs; the refurbishment of the entrance to the reservoir by installing fencing and signage; the expansion and reorganisation of car parks in the visitor reception area and the refurbishment and installation of new items in the children's playground and dog park.

In the visitor reception area, for example, the car parking spaces will be reorganised, the earth areas will be replaced with concrete paving and some spaces will be landscaped. At the entrances to the recreational area, an information post will be installed to welcome visitors to the reservoir, the deteriorated section of the main access road will be resurfaced, the enclosure around the football pitch will be remodelled and vegetation will be planted at the boundary between the main road and the square with the recreational area.

As for the picnic areas, the existing tables and benches will be replaced with new prefabricated wooden ones, the existing barbecues will be removed, the lighting will be replaced, some of the existing trees will be pruned and the surface will be regenerated by clearing and planting natural grass areas.

The existing toilets will be refurbished, the location of the rubbish bins will be reorganised and a slope will be landscaped with native shrub species. The children's playground will be completely remodelled with the installation of new play equipment for children and the dog park will also be refurbished and will feature an agility circuit for dogs, according to information provided by the Diputación.