The first draft of the blueprint for Nerja’s long awaited water treatment plant was due to be delivered two days ago on Tuesday (12th March 2013), however the council has announced that the winning bidders for the contract have been given an extra two months by the Environment Ministry to do this. According to the Mayor this is to allow the contractors to make sure their plans are as definitive as possible so that they “will not require subsequent corrections by the ministry.”

The contractors will now have until the 12th of May to deliver the finalised plan. Once the plan is approved by the ministry, the actual works can begin on this €19m project.

The plant has to be in operation by 2015 to comply with new EU water quality directive which was passed in October 2000. The directive sets minimum standards for the quality of all surface waters including, rivers, lakes and coastal water up to 1 nautical mile from shore.

The new plant has been in the planning stages since the 1970′s and the current project was approved by the Government back in April 2011, with the tendering process starting in March 2012. During the tender process, there were a total of 14 proposals, ranging in price from just under €20M to €22M (plus VAT).
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