Altea seafront refit budget still on course

REMODELLING Altea seafront is at a standstill but the government’s €2.6 million allocation still stands for 2015.

The money will come from the national government in Madrid as scheduled, Finance councillor Pedro Barber confirmed following the recent Budget announcement.

“This means the project has Mariano Rajoy’s backing and that the central government means to see it through,” Barber said. A further instalment of €1.8 million is due to arrive in 2016.

Work on extending the promenade as far the river mouth began in January, but ground to a halt two months ago.

So too did eliminating the Charco, the stagnant and often foul-smelling lagoon between the Paseo and the open sea.

When the seafront overhaul was put out to tender, Cyes Infraestructuras submitted a €4,429,136 bid that was €3.5 million below the limit stipulated by the national government in Madrid.

The company has run out of money although a solution for reactivating the project is close according to Barber, but rests in the hands of the government. “We hope to restart the project as soon as possible,” Barber added.