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Emma Pérez-Romera
Estepona
Thursday, 10 April 2025, 17:55
Estepona continues seeing improvements and extensions of the Senda Litoral coastal path. The last section to be inaugurated was the Benamara section, which links the El Saladillo area with Dos Hermanas. The ultimate objective is to unify the province's 180-kilometre coastline and make it possible to walk or cycle from Manilva to Nerja.
This was stated by mayor of Estepona José María García Urbano at the inauguration of the last completed section, number 11. The head of the municipality has made the project a personal goal since he took office in 2011. "It was one of the projects that I promised we would take forward (...) and today we are very satisfied, because it is coming to an end," he said. This is a significant achievement considering the complexities of such a project that requires "a lot of legal and administrative management".
The section inaugurated had a funding of one million euros, as part of the total budget for the coastal path - 25 million euros. "I would like to express my personal gratitude, because, without the involvement of other administrations, it would have been impossible for this project to go ahead," said García Urbano. He named the provincial authority and the Mancomunidad association of the western Costa del Sol municipalities as two of the entities most connected to the initiative.
The mayor also extended his gratitude to the technicians who designed the project and to the municipal technicians who directed it, in addition to the environmental delegation of the regional government and the provincial demarcation. Last but not least, he thanked Estepona residents for their patience and understanding that "what belongs to everyone should be for everyone".
García Urbano stated that two sections remain to be completed. The first of these will see the beginning of work after Easter and the last, which is awaiting authorisation from the environmental delegation, is expected to start and be completed before the end of 2025.
The mayor added that there would be one last project, known as the Senda Fluvial, which "will connect the coastal corridor with the mountains and the rural area" through paths parallel to streams.
"Currently, the Arroyo de las Cañas river path is practically finished and Estepona town hall is now working on the Guadalmina river, which will connect with Benahavís and with the long path that runs through the north of the province," said García Urbano.
The president of the Malaga provincial authority, José Francisco Salado, congratulated the mayor of Estepona for his personal involvement in the project and said that its culmination means the collaboration of all the mayors of the municipalities through which the Senda Litoral runs. "Estepona has already completed 11 sections, some of them with its own municipal funding, so it is impossible to have more involvement," said Salado.
Salado described the coastal path as "essential for the province of Malaga", as it connects municipalities from a sustainability point of view. The path allows walking, cycling, energising the route and the businesses along it, which in turn increases tourism and revenue. "Tourists are looking for something exclusive and different and the Senda Litoral is exactly that," said Salado.
Mancomunidad president Manuel Cardeña also expressed his opinion that the Senda Litoral project "is an example of efficiency" that should extend to the rest of the Costa del Sol municipalities.
Once the remaining phases have been completed, the challenge will be to connect the coastal path with the inland path, which will create a full experience of the province's sea and mountains.
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