Malaga tax agency headquarters refurbishment halted over budget dispute

Hacienda sources confirmed to SUR that work at the landmark city-centre building has ground to a halt. The site has been closed to the public since late 2019 due to severe structural safety issues. This latest disruption guarantees further delays to a project whose total cost will exceed 40 million euros.

Spanish construction firm Seranco SAU won the tender in February 2025 with a bid of 28.12 million euros, including tax. The offer came in 18 per cent below the original tender price, saving the government more than five million euros and beating several major consortiums.

Work began in 2025 with a target completion date of 2027. However, the contractor has since formally requested a contract modification and price revision. With the Ministry of Finance currently assessing the request and no financial agreement in sight, operations have ceased.

Authorities recently boarded up lower-floor windows and reinforced perimeter security barriers to prevent intruders from squatting in the empty structure.

The broader 40-million-euro bill covers far more than the main construction contract. Key expenditures accumulated since structural defects were identified include:

• Rental of temporary offices (2018–2025): Approximately two million euros per year.

• Temporary office fit-outs: 1.3 million euros across four city-centre locations.

• Interior demolition (2019): 686,000 euros to assess the internal load-bearing framework.

• Architectural design (2022–2024): 188,000 euros paid to COR and Otxotorena Arquitectos.

Around 600 civil servants remain dispersed across four separate sites: the Malaga Plaza shopping centre, the former Gaybo building on Calle Héroe Sostoa, the Rialto building on Calle Hilera and premises on Calle Compositor Lehmberg Ruiz.

A technical assessment in June 2017 revealed critical defects in the 15-storey building, which was completed in 1980. Engineers warned that the floor slabs could no longer guarantee structural stability and that the complex had avoided collapse only because maximum load capacities had never been reached.

The structural flaws are unrelated to the nearby metro construction and do not affect the foundations. However, along with necessary structural reinforcement, the project requires a complete replacement of the building's obsolete heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

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