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The project that Malaga council wants to make a reality by incorporating the Guadalmedina riverbed more into the city landscape has hit something of a brick wall. Although the special plan for this project has not yet been approved as it is currently in a preliminary stage pending completion of its environmental assessment, Malaga's mayor Francisco de la Torre wants to speed up the design of the main building work involved.
His goal is to 'stitch' together both sides of the riverbed with a wide, overarching 'bridge-plaza' and the infilling of a 350-metre section to create embankments between the Armiñán and Aurora bridges. The end product would be a large square over the riverbed that better connects the city centre and Trinidad districts by providing pedestrian access.
To this end the municipal company Promálaga opened the tendering process in November for the contracting of the preliminary project for the partial covering of the riverbed between the Armiñán and Perchel bridges, up by Calle Salitre, with a budget of 340,000 euros and a completion period of five months. The deadline for receipt of bids from architectural firms interested in taking up this project ended on the 8th December last year with a frustrating outcome as no bids were received.
This news was announced on Wednesday by the council's governing team in a statement, in which it argues that it has "proof that there is interest in the project from potential bidders, although the coincidence of tis process with Christmas and year end made it unfeasible to meet the deadlines for submitting bids," according to the councillor responsible for environmental sustainability, Penélope Gómez.
Initial project to cover the river between the bridges
of Armiñán and Aurora
Armiñán bridge
Proposed covering
The river covering would have openings of different sizes
C/. Trinidad
Initial project to cover the river between the bridges
of Armiñán and La Aurora
Puente de Armiñán
Proposed covering
The river covering would have openings of different sizes to act as 'chimneys' to relieve the air pressure
C/. Trinidad
Initial project to cover the river between the bridges
Armiñán and La Aurora
Puente de Armiñán
Proposed covering
The river covering would have openings of different sizes to act as 'chimneys' to relieve the air pressure
C/. Trinidad
For this reason, city hall issued on Wednesday a new tender to commission the design of the project - same amount of time to the new deadline and for the same budget (339,923.45 euros including IVA sales tax). The period for submitting bids will remain open until 5 March. Malaga council is hopeful that second time around it can award this project to an independent team of architects as there is still a long road ahead of it in terms of urban planning.
According to the specifications for contracting the preliminary project for the Guadalmedina, "in a first phase lasting two months the company that is awarded the contract must present an advance report with an analysis of the solution and its justification in the environment based on the previous work." That "previous work" was carried out by the council's own department for urban planning, so the architects must take account of "the conditions of the riverbed and its hydraulic regime after the latest studies carried out, so that the work on the riverbed allows the hydraulic functioning to be made compatible with the urban development requirements for its integration."
"In the second phase, which lasts three months, the design will be developed in agreement with the municipal urban planning department in order to reach the necessary level of detail on a preliminary project scale, including the geometric and material definition of the solution, the pre-dimensioning of the structures, an estimated budget and a timetable for the building work," according to the terms of the contract.
"It is proposed to partially cover the riverbed by building a large 'bridge-plaza' between the Armiñán and Aurora bridges, as well as two smaller ones up by Santo Domingo and the current Trinidad bridge, and the creation of a river park between the Armiñán bridge and the El Perchel pedestrian walkway," said a council spokesperson.
"All these actions will be complemented with improvement works in the surrounding streets, such as Avenida de Fátima and the Santo Domingo lane on the right bank; and Avenida de la Rosaleda and the Santa Isabel walkway on the left, where paving and the incorporation of trees and recreational areas will be proposed.
"These proposals will have to be developed by means of the corresponding urban development projects", added the spokesperson.
Whoever ends up drafting the preliminary project will have to make these interventions compatible with the plan to build tunnels for the traffic along either side of the river as well as some remodelling of the Aurora and Esperanza bridges.
At the urban planning level the special plan needed for these changes to the Guadalmedina to go ahead is still in the initial phase of environmental analysis by a delegation from the Junta's ministry of the environment, which has been dragging on for over two years.
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