Marbella puts heliport once owned by mastermind behind massive corruption case up for rent

Marbella town hall is looking for someone interested in renting the Los Manchones Altos heliport in the Nagüeles area for a maximum of eight years. The 13,812.50-square-metre facility was once owned by notorious business owner and politician Juan Antonio Roca, who was one of the masterminds behind the famous Malaya corruption case in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. According to Forbes, Roca managed to amass Spain's fourth largest fortune. He often used it to travel to his properties in other parts of Spain, mostly at the controls of his own helicopter.

The town hall took ownership of the heliport in July 2016, after the court ruled that the people of Marbella should recover it as payment for Roca's civil liability in the Saqueo I case (one of the five cases, including Malaya, for which the former urban planning councillor was convicted). The municipality formally accepted ownership in January 2020, after the site had been valued at 635,000 euros in 2018.

Roca had obtained the heliport in 2001 through an administrative concession to the company Heliponto Marbella for a period of 50 years. He was able to use it until he was sent to prison on 29 March 2006, where he remained until being granted conditional release in February 2019.

In the same process, the town hall received the La Caridad and the Siete Corchones properties, worth 5.08 million and 1.52 million euros, respectively.

According to the tender, anyone wishing to use the old Roca heliport will have to pay at least 5,176 euros per month (excluding taxes). The contract is initially for four years, but can be extended for another four years. It is expected to improve the municipal coffers with an income of almost 497,000 euros during those eight years. However, the figure may increase, bearing in mind that the contract will be obtained in an auction, the date for which is yet to be announced. Interested parties have until 12 November to submit their bids.

This will actually be the town hall's second attempt to rent out this space. The first attempt was in July, but the tender was withdrawn due to specification errors. The starting price for the public auction of the concession is based on a 2011 rental contract drawn up by the court-appointed administrator of the company linked to Roca that owned the facility. That contract set the rent at 4,000 a month, which, updated to reflect the accumulated CPI since then (29.4%), brings the new amount to 5,176 euros.

The successful bidder will have to obtain the necessary permits and a certificate from the state aviation safety agency (Aesa) in order to use the infrastructure. The facility, built land designated for future development under the current planning regulations, includes a 675-square-metre hangar, 115 square metres of office space and a caretaker's dwelling of just under 62 square metres, as well as a water tank and a power substation, giving a total developed area of 4,868.79 square metres.