In association with
NOVEMBER 9nd - NOVEMBER 15th
Costa Investment Approved
Central government has this week approved 'Plan Malaga' benefiting the province with a boost in infrastructure to guarantee future water supplies.
Under the plan, 40,248 million pesetas will be spent on the current water infrastructures and complete links to the regional 'Cuenca del Sur' system.
New techniques will be used to ensure the irrigation of crops in the Guadalhorce Valley and a new desalination plant will be constructed in the city at a cost of 5,000 million pesetas.
The Concepción reservoir is to be extended and a new dam built at Cerro Blanco in the Grande River, at a cost of almost 8,000 million pesetas. Better use is to be made of the water springs found in the Axarquia and the Sierra Almijara with an investment of 1,823 million pesetas. One billion pesetas will be spent on the reforestation of the Guadalmedina Valley.
Regional Government to fund Housing Plan
Regional Public works councillor Concepción Gutiérrez signed an agreement this week with the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, under which 32,400 million pesetas will be invested in housing. The Third Andalucian Land and Housing Plan will permit the construction of more than 4,000 new homes in the city. The Mayor said he was satisfied with the plan, which had come after months of hard work.
A further and separate agreement between regional and provincial governments worth 600 million pesetas will allow the construction of an additional 110 new council homes.
N-340 Dual Carriageway Begins
After a summer of traffic chaos generating political and media pressure, work on widening the N340 between Estepona and Guadiaro is beginning. This stretch of road currently accounts for the most accidents in Andalucia. The widening should take 18 months to complete and the Partido Popular is pressing for it to be finished before the summer of 2002.
Residents of Torreguadiaro are worried that the widening of the road will take it virtually up to the doorsteps of homes and businesses, although it is forecast that the eventual opening of the Estepona -Guadiaro section of the Costa del Sol motorway will relieve the pressure on the N-340. Torreguadiaro hopes its section of the road will be converted to a wide avenue and form a future Paseo Maritimo.
Paseo Maritimo starts Third Phase
Works on the third phase of Fuengirola's Paseo Maritimo due to start now will take 13 months to be completed. The centre section will be affected and works include access to the port and Calle Churruca. A budget of 443 million pesetas has been assigned to the project, which will finish at the beginning of 2002.
Four Star Florida
The three-star Florida is Fuengirola's oldest hotel built in 1956. It has now been bought by Somersen for 1,282 million pesetas. The company plans to close the hotel at the end of next year, demolish it and invest 2,918 million pesetas in building a new four-star Florida with 203 rooms.
Free Helpline
Mijas Town Hall is offering a free help line to people in the municipality who are handicapped over 60 years of age. Those wishing to avail themselves of the service should apply to the Social Services department or contact the Foreign Residents department for more information.
Cash Handicap
ASPANDEM, the Parents Association of the Mentally Handicapped of Marbella, are still waiting for 40 million pesetas from the regional government. Their grant for this year was 92 million pesetas but so far only 52 million has been given to them. Earlier this year, ASPANDEM was in danger of closing due to lack of funding and their situation still remains critical.
ANDALUCIA DEL GOLF
For a period of ten days Andalucia has been the centre of the golfing world first the city of Jerez hosted the Volvo Masters. This week, all eyes are on the Valderrama golf course at Sotogrande, home to the World Championships.
With so many golf professionals and enthusiasts on the Costa, Marbella has been prompted to hold the "Premiere de Golf" exhibition.
Over 50,000 visitors have been attracted to Andalucia to attend these events. The tourist authorities say 72,000 million pesetas was generated last year from golf tourism. They believe the figure for this year will be 90,000 millions rising to 100,000 million in the next four years.
SIERRA NEVADA SEASON OPENS NOVEMBER
Regional government delegate for Granada, Jesús Quero, announced that the new Sierra Nevada skiing season would be open on November 30, provided that the predicted weather conditions are fulfilled.
Rain fell earlier this week but the company responsible for the ski resort, Cetursa, said it hoped there would be sufficient snow by the end of the month Regional Government has also announced a new investment scheme in the Sierra Nevada to start at the end of this year's season, nearly 2000 million pesetas is to be spent on improvements to chair lifts and artificial snow cannons.
WHAT'S COOKING?
Benahavis, the self-styled gastronomic capital of the Costa del Sol, is to be home to the Spanish-Arab School of Mediterranean Diet. This project is a joint venture between the regional government and the town Halls of Málaga Province and counts with 132 million pesetas of EU funding. When completed 30 per cent of the students will be from North Africa.
A MILITARY RESPONSE
The border town of La Linea de la Concepción believes military tourism could generate valuable income. La Linea plans to spend 27 million pesetas refurbishing 12 forts within the town's boundaries. The Regional Government has given a grant of 14 million pesetas for seven forts and the Town Hall will raise the rest.
Underpass Should Pass
The planned N340 underpass at San Pedro de Alcantára might be halted due to a planning war between Marbella and the regional government.
The regional government has written to the Ministry of Works urging that the 400 million pesetas project is vital to unblock one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the province and to generally improve safety on the N340.
Interpol Turns Spanish
Jesús Espigares Mira, born in La Herradura and currently General Commissioner of the Spanish Judicial Police, was chosen to be President of Interpol this week at a meeting of the international crime-fighting organisation held in Greece. This is the first time a Spaniard has held the post in the history of Interpol, which dates from 1956.
In his acceptance speech, Jesús Espigares said that his main concern would be the continued fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and the networks dedicated to illegal immigration. He added that new technologies must be used to the full in the fight against crime, and that Interpol needed to be more agile in its response.
Born in La Herradura in 1946, Jesús Espigares has been a policeman since he was 22 and a commissioner for the past 16 years.
CADIZ REMEMBERS EL CAMARÓN
The city of Cádiz and the nearby town of San Fernando will commemorate the 50th anniversay of the birth of Camarón de la Isla with a flamenco spectacular. The late singer was born José Monge Cruz in San Fernando on December 5, 1950, and made his first recording in 1967 aged 17.
Concerts will he held in Cádiz on December 4 with "Camarón Sinfonico" featuring a band of 40 musicians and on December 6 with a concert by promising flamenco performers. On December 5, San Fernando stages "Los Musicos de Camarón, which will feature Paco de Lucia, Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, Raimundo Amador, Moraito, Remedios Amaya and a host of other flamenco stars.
Olympic Stadium for Málaga
Andalucian party PA announced this week that regional government's budgets for next year allocate 400 million pesetas for the construction of an Olympic sized stadium in Málaga. The news was given in a press conference by Ildefonso Dell'Olmo, PA delegate in the Sevilla Parliament. Sr. Dell'Olimo told reporters "This money will be spent in creating a public company to oversee the construction of the stadium". However, he received criticism on regional spending plans, with special mention on the Vélez-Málaga to Marbella ring road with claims of serious under-funding.
Catch the Bus to the Internet
Málaga Provincial Government and Telefónica have joined forces to equip a bus with eight computer terminals. The vehicle will now tour towns and villages across the province in an effort to introduce the Internet to local residents. Their targets are school children, municipal works and local businessmen.
Phoenician Vélez-Málaga
The regional government and Vélez-Málaga council has jointly set up a technical commission to plan the construction of a Phoenician them park and open air museum in the town. It would probably be based around the Phoenician remains at Bajo Vélez and the commission will issue their first set of proposal within 40 days, with construction on the project hoped to be started before the end of the year.
New Animal Protection Society in Frigiliana
A new animal protection society called "Pro-Animales" has been created to cover Nerja and Frigiliana. The group says its first priority will be to help the many abandoned cats and dogs in the area. They can be contacted at Pro-Animales", Lista de Correos, E-29788 Frigiliana.