Next Malaga metro extension to be determined within a year

Regional minister of public works Mario Muñoz-Atanet announced this on Monday after holding a meeting with Mayor Francisco de la Torre, and their respective teams.

The study is examining the next station and route options based on potential passenger demand, cost and the benefits of what would be major infrastructure works.

Joint venture ARCS and Typsa is behind this project, for which it has a budget of almost 584,000 euros and a completion period of 17 months. Work began on 20 August 2025, following the signing of the contract by the regional ministry of public works.

Three possible scenarios are under consideration for the future extension: extending the line towards the TechPark and Campanillas from the existing depot and maintenance facilities; continuing northwards from Hospital Civil towards Ciudad Jardín; or extending eastwards from the city centre station at Atarazanas towards El Palo and Rincón de la Victoria.

The planning study has narrowed the options down to 12 possible routes: three towards Ciudad Jardín, three towards the TechPark and six towards the eastern part of the city and Rincón de la Victoria.

The current phase will identify the best technical solution for each corridor, with the authorities committed to selecting one as the winner (the most urgent and highest-priority option) and putting it out to public consultation during the first half of 2027. Once an agreement has been reached, work can begin on the detailed construction project for the chosen route.

As for the works needed to complete the existing network, construction is 75 per cent complete on the first section, around calle Hilera, although the discovery of a major Roman necropolis has slowed progress.

The second section, beneath Calle Eugenio Gross, is 35 per cent complete, while work on the third section, between Eugenio Gross and Blas de Lezo, began in August.

Apart from the metro, the Guadalhorce motorway (A-357) will be one of the main priorities for the new regional minister. He made this clear by announcing three projects aimed at improving access to Malaga, the University of Malaga (UMA) campus, the industrial area and the TechPark.

First, a project will extend the service road running alongside the motorway near the El Viso industrial area. This will allow traffic to connect directly with the A-7 without having to join the main carriageway of the A-357.

The estimated cost is four million euros and the project is expected to ease congestion at one of the most problematic points on the city's road network.

A second project will extend the existing bus lane, allowing the current platform to reach the Cortijo Jurado junction, at a cost of six million euros. A further study will look at increasing the capacity of the A-357 on the section before the start of the bus lane serving the TechPark.

These projects come on top of the first expansion of the Guadalhorce road, which is already under way between Casapalma and Cerralba over a four-kilometre stretch, as well as the preparation of the next section, from Cerralba to Zalea, which will add another four to five kilometres. There are also plans to dual the road providing access to Ronda.

The third priority concerns interurban public transport. The regional minister has pledged that all bus concessions will have been formally awarded and covered by contracts before the end of the year. Almost all of the existing concessions have expired.

The new contracts will give operators the legal certainty needed to renew their fleets and increase service frequencies, while giving the public works department greater powers to demand better services for passengers.

Muñoz-Atanet is particularly focusing on the eastern part of the province, between Malaga, Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga. This is currently the area facing the greatest traffic problems, with no prospect of improvements to the A-7 from the central government.

To coordinate these and other outstanding projects in the city, the regional government and Malaga city council agreed on Monday to establish a transport infrastructure commission. It will deal with projects affecting the city, particularly its metropolitan links with the wider Malaga area.

The commission will meet every three months and will be divided into specialist working groups covering each area. "This commission will continue working at both technical and political level to provide real and viable solutions for the people of Malaga," Muñoz-Atanet said.

At Monday's inaugural meeting, the authorities discussed a number of projects. These include the distributor road and the extension of Avenida Joaquín Vargas; road connections in north-western Malaga, including external access routes to the new hospital; widening the A-7054 to improve links between business parks, the Tarajal area and future developments; the Cercanías C2 commuter rail line and related intermodal connections; a museum space incorporating the archaeological remains uncovered during metro construction; park-and-ride facilities and transport interchanges; the agreement covering the public bicycle-sharing system; and the A-7000 road, among other projects.

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