Costa del Sol water supply project between Benalmádena and Torremolinos reaches 20% completion
Regional agriculture minister Ramón Fernández-Pacheco visited the construction work, which began in December but was halted by storms
Work on the new section of the so-called ‘water highway’ between the Costa del Sol Occidental and Guadalhorce-Limonero is progressing “at full speed.”
This was stated by the regional minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and rural development, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, who said that the project is already 20 per cent complete.
Fernández-Pacheco visited the work in Benalmádena on Thursday, accompanied by the mayors of Benalmádena and Torremolinos, Juan Antonio Lara and Margarita del Cid, respectively. The meeting was also attended by Acosol’s CEO, Matilde Mancha, and the president of the association of municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol, Manuel Cardeña.
The construction of the new pipeline began in December in Benalmádena and in February in El Pinillo in Torremolinos, although work had to be stopped due to the recent storms.
"We are going to reduce the risk of future breakdowns and improve the supply and performance of the network," stressed the councillor.
The work has an investment of 13.6 million euros, co-financed by the regional authority and Acosol - the public company responsible for the supply of drinking water - through an agreement that stipulates that Acosol is responsible for the tendering and execution.
"A model that demonstrates that collaboration between institutions is the best way to speed up the implementation of essential infrastructures for citizens," the regional minister said. "We are going to reduce the risk of future breakdowns, providing security for residents and improving the supply and performance of the network," he added.
In Benalmádena, several teams are working on two different sections of Avenida del Sol (Torrequebrada and Sunset Beach), as well as working on the branch of Acosol's secondary network.
This consists of a further two kilometres, connecting the main network with the Tívoli reservoir. In Torremolinos, after making a complicated connection in the area of the Repsol roundabout on Avenida Alcalde Miguel Escalona Quesada, work is now underway on the avenue itself down to the next roundabout.
Performance and commitment
As for the upstream network, the work consists of replacing the current section with another 800 millimetre ductile iron pipe that will run along a new route of approximately six kilometres (of which one corresponds to Torremolinos, and the remaining five kilometres to Benalmádena); as well as three connections with the municipal networks of Benalmádena and Torremolinos, of which two are 400 millimetres and one is 200 millimetres.
Furthermore, in Benalmádena, two 2.3 kilometres of work will be carried out on the secondary network, in addition to the six kilometres of the mains network. The work also includes the installation of the reclaimed water network, which runs parallel to the new route and will be used for irrigation and flushing.
The mayors of Benalmádena and Torremolinos have applauded the "commitment" and "investment effort" of the regional government and Acosol with this action.
