The former power plant by the River Chillar e. cabezas

Plan to turn former Chíllar River power station into visitor centre moves forward

Nerja’s mayor has repeated his call to the regional government to control access at the popular beauty spot

Wednesday, 27 April 2022, 10:56 | Updated 11:17h.

After two years of closure due to the pandemic, Nerja's Chíllar river looks set to return to normal this summer with no restrictions. However, Nerja town hall fears that the problems of overcrowding and accidents will also return as the Junta de Andalucía, who is responsible for the site, still has not put in any controls to regulate visitor numbers.

Last year Nerja town hall announced that it was working on the acquisition of the old power station known as ‘Segunda Fábrica de la Luz’, to convert it into a visitors’ centre which would control access.

Mayor of Nerja, José Alberto Armijo, accompanied by the councillors for town planning and culture, met with representatives of the electricity company Endesa last week, with the aim of making further progress to convert the space, which has been abandoned for more than five decades, into a visitors’ centre with information about the history of electricity, as well as the adjoining buildings, which will be used for visitors to the Chillar river, according to the local authority.

Armijo described the meeting as "fruitful" and spoke of the "willingness" of the company "to continue advancing in the proceedings". He added, “To enhance the value of our industrial heritage and expand our tourist offer, we need, among other things, to recover and rehabilitate the old hydroelectric power station.”

The mayor added that urgent action must be taken at the plant "to halt its deterioration and avoid irreparable damage to the industrial machinery. We are working on an agreement with Endesa that will allow us to carry out this intervention."

Armijo mayor also met with the regional delegate for sustainable development, José Antonio Víquez, to discuss the regulation of the recreational use of the river Chíllar and the project for a new car park in Maro on which, which will provide an extra 145 parking spaces.