Malaga's Neoalbéniz cinema enters final stage of construction more than two years after launch

The scaffolding itself caused work to stop last year and led the project team to revise the construction plans, including a new exterior structure to facilitate the closure of the facades.

According to the latest update, construction should finish by the end of 2026. That would put the project around a year and a half behind its original schedule, assuming no further delays occur.

The building, designed by architect Natalia Muñoz Aguilar, completely transforms the urban fabric on the hillside below the Alcazaba, once occupied by derelict warehouses.

When the cinema opens, the surrounding area will also regain a public space for residents and visitors. A pedestrian route along Calle Pozo del Rey will connect the new building with the Albéniz and will turn what was previously a dead-end street into a direct route to Plaza de Jesús El Rico.

This connection will also allow the Neoalbéniz's two new screening rooms to effectively expand the four screens at the cinema on Calle Alcazabilla. The existing programme, which features a wide selection of Spanish films and films in their original language, often fills up because of the cinema's extensive schedule.

The two screening rooms occupy the ground floor and will provide 198 seats in total: 108 in one room and 90 in the other. The seats will sit on a sloping floor to give audiences a better view of the screen.

The Neoalbéniz now stands close to completion. Workers have finished the facades, which use white concrete to give the building its distinctive appearance, and have turned their attention to finishing the interiors.

The building occupies a 450-square-metre plot and has a total floor area of 1,173 square metres.

Visitors will enter through a patio leading into an interior foyer. One of the building's main attractions will also be there: the archaeological remains of Malaga's medieval wall and barbican. Members of the public will be able to see these remnants of the city's Arab past without buying a ticket.

Although the screening rooms represent the building's most prominent feature, the Neoalbéniz will serve purposes beyond cinema. It will also provide Málaga Procultura and the Malaga Film Festival with new offices and facilities for their activities. The new space will also allow the Teatro Cervantes to move its administrative offices here, freeing up space at the theatre.

The first floor will house the projection booths for Screens 1 and 2, as well as the audience toilets. It will also contain a 32-square-metre television studio, with two adjoining rooms for image control and a glass-fronted audio booth.

The two floors above will accommodate various administrative and technical offices.

The second floor will have the largest floor area in the building, covering 364 square metres. Seven offices and other facilities will occupy the space, with the largest office measuring 40 square metres. The floor will also include a training room for activities run by the Malaga Film Festival and the city's film office, which provides services for film and television productions.

The top floor will contain two spacious offices measuring 55 and 60 square metres, as well as a kitchenette and a 22-square-metre covered terrace.

With construction now approaching its final stage, the Neoalbéniz is finally moving towards the end of a lengthy process that has lasted eight years since Mayor Francisco de la Torre announced the project in 2018.

Archaeological surveys and studies caused several years of delays because the medieval city wall runs through the block containing the site. Construction eventually began in February 2024, with a 14-month timetable that would have brought completion before summer 2025.

However, in May last year, the urban planning department announced changes to the project. The team developed a new solution for the formwork system used with the white concrete. This change to the construction method came alongside other complications, including the site's difficult layout and the need to incorporate the archaeological remains.

The revised plans led workers to erect the imposing scaffolding that has covered the building throughout much of the construction process. They have now removed it.

These problems and delays have also pushed the construction budget up by almost half a million euros, bringing the total cost to nearly 3.8 million euros.

If the final stage proceeds without further delays, the team expects to equip the building between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. The city hopes to have the Neoalbéniz up and running in time for the next Malaga Film Festival, which will open on 28 February.

Its opening will also give Malaga its second new cinema complex in less than a year, following the reopening of the refurbished MK2 Málaga Nostrum Premium in June.

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