Auction for the Repsol towers project will go ahead as planned, says Malaga city council

The court found in favour of the council, saying that the project can be carried out exactly as stated in the Urban Plan which was approved in 2011, whether the land is owned by the local authority or by another party.

Raúl López, the Councillor for Land Regulation, has explained that the town planning department has responded in a report to questions and complaints from companies which had presented a bid at the auction after learning about the case brought by Bosque Urbano.

The report explained that lawyers have advised that the land is currently an object of dispute and it is not yet known what the consequences of the court case may be. For that reason, it has been decided to give the companies in question another 15 days to decide whether they want to bid again or to drop out.

The land the council wants to sell is beside Avenida Juan XXIII and three towers (32, 30 and 28 storeys high) are to be built there, housing 528 apartments, shops and offices. Three companies have already bid for the five plots (Urbania, Stoneweg and Acciona), and another two just for the site on which the tallest tower will stand, from Single Home and Exxacon.

With this much competition, the council expects to receive far more money than it had originally expected.

An announcement about the winning bids had been expected in early June, but then the municipal audit office requested more justification for the points given by technicians to the architectural proposals presented by the companies.

On 23 June the board was due to meet again but this was postponed because of doubts over the Bosque Urbano court case. It remains to be seen whether third time will be lucky for the council and those interested in the projects.