Costa del Sol's key water supply project stuck in long delays

The expansion of the Verde water treatment plant - the main project to guarantee the Costa del Sol's water supply - has been stuck in the tendering process since 28 November 2024. Like many other projects, it has passed through multiple (around 30) administrative procedures, without really moving forward.

This longstanding delay is attributable to successive regional governments. Meanwhile, this entire area continues having a fragile system that prevents it from reliably handling peak flows during the high season and which, with only minor adjustments, is practically the same as it was in the 1970s.

The Andalusian regional ministry of agriculture, in collaboration with water company Acosol, has set out to unblock this strategic infrastructure. The project, under the decree of measures against drought, costs more than 53 million euros.

The original plant dates back to 1972. It is currently operating at its limit. With a capacity of 2,300 litres per second, technicians must perform complex manoeuvres to meet peak summer demand exceeding 4,000 litres per second.

After the upgrade, the facility will double its capacity to 4,600 litres per second. To understand the scale of the project, it is enough to compare these figures with the demand of the city of Malaga, which injects an average of 1,500 litres per second into its network. With this increase, the plant will be able to serve a population of two million people.

The budget is divided into two parts: the 37 million the regional government tendered for the treatment plant and a reservoir and almost 17 million more that Acosol will contribute for a second main reservoir. The design was put out to tender at the end of last year for 665,000 euros. Water company Técnica y Proyectos has just won with a bid for 454,223 euros.

There will be two identical reservoirs, divided into four tanks, with a total capacity of 120,000 cubic metres. This is equivalent to half a day's demand in summer, providing a vital safety net in case of emergencies.

The project will take place in phases to avoid interrupting water supply. While Acosol builds the new main reservoir, the existing infrastructure will remain operational. Once the first phase is complete, the regional government will proceed with the complete reconstruction of the old reservoir.

The original expansion of the water treatment plant was suspended in 2009 due to the economic crisis, even rendering previous improvements made in 2005 unusable. Now, the tender specifications have set a 32-month execution period (six of which for drafting the final project). The original 2028 deadline is now seriously jeopardised.

The lack of facilities capable of handling such volumes prevents, for example, water from being transferred to Malaga city, regardless of the condition of the network. In fact, the desalination plant cannot be shut down and rely solely on water from the La Concepción reservoir when it is full (as it frequently needs to be drained) because the plant does not have the capacity to cope with this.