Construction work on Nerja’s long delayed new water treatment plant could start before the end of this year, according to the town’s mayor. José Alberto Armijo attended a meeting on Thursday at the Environment Ministry in Madrid where it was confirmed that the project will get its final approval no later than the start of October after which construction work can start. “I hope and wish that they can meet these objectives and that the start of the works will be a reality before the end of the year.” stated Armijo.
The contract for the work was awarded almost exactly one year ago, when the consortium Isolux-Corsan-Corviam tendered the lowest bid for the project at just over €19 million. This bid was €3M less than the next cheapest rival.
At the time, the consortium had three months to provide the final draft of the project for approval by the Environment Ministry, a deadline that was subsequently extended until May of this year. The plans were then due to be approved by the Ministry within two months.
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). The funding for the first year of the project has already been allocated in Spain’s national budget for 2013.
The plant has to be operational by 2015 which is the deadline set by the European Union. In addition to the treatment plant itself, the planned works includes a network of collectors, outfalls and pumping stations. The plant will have a capacity of between 25,000 and 30,000 cubic meters per day and will allow the reuse of wastewater for irrigation of 20,000 cubic meters. The infrastructure will serve more than 100,000 inhabitants.