Marbella awards the contract for its grand ‘boulevard’ and the obelisk, the town’s new landmark

The project will be carried out by a temporary joint venture (UTE) comprising a firm from the Malaga-based Sando group (Althenia) and a company belonging to the French Eiffage group (Eiffage Infraestructuras), which has been involved in the transformation of the IFEMA and Valdebebas venues to host this coming Sunday’s Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Their bid, at just under 3.83 million euros, prevailed over the other tenderer: a joint venture comprising the Granada-based firm Prodesur and the Madrid-based engineering firm Iote. This business alliance submitted a slightly lower bid (3.79 million, 1.8 per cent below the tender amount, compared with 0.82 per cent for the winning bid), but the technical criteria tipped the balance in favour of the proposal from Sando and Eiffage.

With this project, the council aims to complete the work that began with the construction of the section between Marbella and Puente Romano. The local authority now intends to proceed in both directions: eastwards, between the Manuel Haro roundabout and the Arco de Marbella, and westwards, between Puente Romano and the Swedish Forestry Centre.

On this section of the 'golden mile', specifically at the junction of the N-340 and Istán (A-7176) roads, a 40-metre-high obelisk will be erected which, thanks to the three-metre lightning conductor that will crown it, will become the architectural centrepiece of the municipality.

The project forms part of "a comprehensive transformation strategy" for the N-340 as it passes through Marbella, which aims to improve mobility and the image of this major artery in Marbella’s road network, whilst integrating the road into the urban environment.

The model is the San Pedro boulevard, created following the underground relocation of the old A-7 route, which transformed San Pedro Alcántara from a town divided by a road into a single, integrated space. In their tender, Althenia and Eiffage have committed to carrying out 2,000 working days of night-time work, so that the project can progress whilst minimising the inevitable disruption caused by work of this nature, and which has a completion period of ten months.

Three separate projects are planned for the eastern part of the development area: improving accessibility on the pavement along Avenida Juan de la Cierva, between the Local Police headquarters and the Arco de Marbella; the creation of a landscaped central reservation between the Manuel Haro roundabout and the Local Police roundabout; and the restoration of the ‘Los tres barcos’ fountain.

The first project involves work over a 198-metre stretch to construct the pavement at this point, where there is a bus stop, and to install street lighting in the area. The central reservation will extend for 315 metres and, as well as enhancing the area’s appearance, will serve to improve road safety, given that there is currently no central reservation. The other project involves landscaping the entire Manuel Haro roundabout, creating three small fountains and installing new lighting and irrigation systems.

As for the section of the golden mile, it will be carried out in two parts totalling 1,943 metres, specifically the 605 metres between Puente Romano and the junction with the Istán road, and the 1,338 metres between the A-7176 and the Swedish Forestry Centre, where planters will be installed to act as a central reservation. In between, there is a 57-metre stretch where a roundabout will be built. The obelisk will be erected at this roundabout; it will have the shape of a hollow truncated pyramid clad in white marble.