First section of 'water highway' between Costa del Sol and Malaga gets underway: public company Acosol signs contract

CHM Obras e Infraestructuras-Albaida Infraestructuras is the joint venture that has won public water company Acosol's contract for the transfer of water between the Western Costa del Sol and Malaga. The 13.6-million-euro contract is for a period of nine months. It is the first step towards effectively achieving the 'water highway', which is already functioning optimally between Malaga and the Axarquia district in both directions, providing peace of mind in periods of drought.

However, the upstream network of the Costa del Sol is obsolete and suffers continuous bursts. The first contract, which is part of Acosol's 350-million-euro investment plan, focuses on improvements. It covers the drafting of the project and the execution of the work on the pipelines between Torrequebrada (Benalmádena) and El Pinillo (Torremolinos). This is a complex project, with points of conflict with the Cercanías railway, Benalmádena port, tunnels and other areas. Geotechnics and archaeology are also important keys, as well as the junction with gas and telephone services, etc.

The drafting period is only one month, given the urgency of the work. The tender specifications highlight the recent drought crisis and the importance of having a whole arsenal of resources.

The Costa del Sol population is 579,530, which doubles in summer. It mostly relies on the La Concepción reservoir, although the Marbella desalination plant can now produce 20 million cubic metres a year. The Guadalmansa and Fuengirola wells also provide a further 11. In extreme situations, water can also be transferred from the Campo de Gibraltar. In short, the document considers it fundamental that Malaga city and the Costa del Sol be well interconnected. In addition, the Costa manages more than 3,000 litres per second during the high season.

The regional government of Andalucía has already executed an emergency project to improve the Rojas pumping station in Churriana, which allows the theoretical transfer of 500 litres per second in both directions.

Acosol's two main pipeline projects date back to 1965 and originate from the Verde water treatment plant (another bottleneck now for the transfer of water flows). One branch goes to the east and the other to the west. The network is close to exhausting its useful life. The technical report admits the high number of breakdowns that take place. In urban areas, the risk of material and personal damage is very high. For example, emergency work was necessary to repair a rupture just three weeks ago.

This major project has been declared of regional interest by the Junta. Logically, the new pipeline will have connections to the supply points of Astosam and Emabesa. This is a one-kilometre route, which also crosses heterogeneous terrain, ranging from limestone to slate.