The Junta agrees with the government over procedures for the tower hotel in Malaga Port

Malaga city hall’s Town Planning department and the State Ports authority have been discussing for the past ten months the procedure to change the Special Plan so that a new hotel, the Torre del Puerto, can be built on the Levante quay. At present, such a construction in the Port is not possible. Now, two official bodies which are not involved in the operation have backed the government’s position rather than that of Malaga council.

A report from the Junta de Andalucía’s Ministry of Public Works, requested by Malaga council, has endorsed the route map proposed by government lawyers, saying the Plan should be changed first and then the project should be presented to the Council of Ministers for the definitive go-ahead. Lawyers for the Junta agree with those of the State that the change to the Special Plan must be published in the official bulletin before being sent to ministers.

On 11 March the provincial Public Works department received a communication from the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, asking for clarification over the steps that had to be taken for the construction of the hotel after the provisional approval of the modification to the Special Plan. Specifically, he wanted to know what the correct order should be: if the Council of Ministers should lift the prohibition of hotel use in the port before the modification to the Special Plan was published, or whether the change of use should be published first and then sent to the Council of Ministers.

Malaga city hall believes that before the change to the Plan is published and comes into force, the government should lift the ban. However, the government lawyers say that this is not necessary and that the ban will automatically cease to have effect once the modification to the Plan has been published and comes into force.