Beach Sand Replenishment in Marbella Ahead of Holy Week
The replenishment of sand on the Fontanilla beach in Marbella before Holy Week is underway. A report from the Andalusian Board, which the Coast Demarcation has been waiting for eight months, is the final step needed for the central government to tender the stabilization works of the beaches in Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara. The long journey of the breakwaters seems to be reaching its final stage after more than a decade of claims.
The Issue of Sand Shortage on Marbella’s Beaches
The problem of sand shortage on the municipality’s beaches, which storms return to the sea, has been a subject of controversy in the political sphere for many years. After seven years of Mariano Rajoy in the government and the six years of Pedro Sánchez, it seems that the final steps of a long journey are being taken, although victory can never be claimed until the works are underway.
Report Requested from the Ministry of Ecological Transition
The only thing missing is a report requested from the Ministry of Ecological Transition to the General Subdirectorate of the Hydraulic Domain of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Andalusian Board. To rebuild the beaches of Marbella and San Pedro, it is intended to take sand mainly from the Genal and Totalán rivers. Therefore, the regional administration has been asked to report on the impact that the extraction of aggregates could have on these channels.
Stabilization Works Worth Almost 16 Million Euros
Once this document is obtained, as explained by the government sub-delegate, the planned stabilization works can already be tendered. There are two projects, in the sections between the Venus and Ancón beaches in Marbella, and between the Guadaiza and Guadalmina rivers in San Pedro Alcántara, which together amount to almost 16 million euros.
Long Journey of Promises and Delays
With the arrival of Mariano Rajoy to the government in 2012, promises about the breakwaters began. The PP presented the project for the central area of Marbella, from the La Bajadilla port to the Nagüeles beach. That action was based on the premise that the also promised expansion of La Bajadilla and the demolition of the Sports Port had been carried out. The project then proposed the demolition of the breakwater to the west of the current Sports Port and the one that separates the La Bajadilla beach from the Venus beach.
Stabilization of San Pedro Alcántara’s Beaches
In September 2013, it was the turn for the stabilization of the beaches of San Pedro Alcántara. The name of the company that had 12 months to draft the project was even announced. The mayor at the time, Ángeles Muñoz, said that the Zapatero government had kept this same project “in a drawer” when it was in the tendering phase. However, it was not until four years later, in November 2017, when the Minister of the Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, said in the Senate that the contract for the drafting of the project for San Pedro was expected to be signed and that the works would begin in 2018.
Delays and Changes in Government
In May 2018, Tejerina visited San Pedro Alcántara and delayed the start until 2019. That day, the two councilors of OSP who a year earlier had made a motion of censure to return Muñoz to the mayor’s office were with her. In June 2018, the Rajoy government fell and ended seven years without anything having been done in the end for the breakwaters of Marbella and San Pedro. It was the Pedro Sánchez government that put out to tender in February 2019 the drafting of the project for the section between La Venus and Ancón.
Final Steps Towards a Solution
Once the two projects were developed, they were subjected to public exhibition and an environmental impact report, the latter procedure has been eternal. Now it seems that the light at the end of the tunnel is seen to try to find a solution to the loss of sand on the beaches of the municipality of Marbella.
