SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, accompanied by the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing, Sebastián Franquis, visited the installation works of the 121 modular homes for families affected by the volcano in La Palma on Monday. The Aridane Plains. The houses are expected to be installed in September for delivery after the summer.
In statements to the media, the chief executive stressed that, in just one year, the different administrations will deliver some 600 houses between floors, modular and wooden houses. Of these, 116 apartments have already been contributed, there will be 186 modular and wooden houses and another 325 have been paid for for months in the rental modality. For his part, Minister Sebastián Franquis added that these 600 homes will cover practically the entire demand for homes from families who lost theirs during the eruption.
The Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing continues with the urbanization and installation work of the 121 modular homes that will allow alternative accommodation to be offered to families affected by the eruption of the volcano in the municipalities of Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso.
Ángel Víctor Torres and Sebastián Franquis visited these works to see first-hand the progress of the works, which continue at a good pace, as they have been informed by the technicians of the Canarian Housing Institute (Icavi). It is expected that these tasks will be completed this summer in both municipalities.
The visit has been carried out on the plot located on the Los Choriceros road, ceded by the Los Llanos de Aridane City Council. The Town Planning Councilor of the municipality, Manuel Perera, also attended a tour that allowed the authorities to supervise the completion of the urbanization works. A total of 20 container-type modular homes belonging to the lot of 85 homes that have an execution period of three and a half months are already installed on this plot. This model, chosen at the request of the City Council itself, is transferred from Galicia and its installation only requires a week of work.
In his speech to the media, Torres recalled that, when the eruption occurred on September 19, 2021, “the administrations, immediately, arbitrated mechanisms for emergency aid, such as the 5 million from the Government of Spain for the purchase of flats, wooden and modular homes, money managed by the Government of the Canary Islands and which was completed with another 25 million euros”.
As he stressed, this volume of houses installed, in process and offered for rent is possible thanks to the pace of printed work and the fact that it is operating “seven days a week.” Torres considered it very important that, in the case of the modular ones started in April on land ceded by the Consistory, they are single-family homes that will have a street, a children’s playground and that are located in the middle of the municipality, with a health center and the pool nearby. “We are giving the most dignified response possible and in record time, since there is no such example of such a rapid response in the history of the Canary Islands. In addition, we have done it in consensus with the city councils,” he stressed.
In the municipality of El Paso, the first phase of the urbanization works has been completed this week with nine modular wooden houses of the 36 planned already fully installed. The Icavi has informed that this Monday the works of the second phase will begin, which will allow the installation of ten more houses, for which two more crews of workers will be hired with the aim of accelerating the completion of the works within the period foreseen for the first fortnight of August.
The Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing has invested 7,119,101 euros in the acquisition of these 121 modular homes, one of the fastest and most reliable housing solutions to be able to offer a home temporarily, and without leaving the Aridane Valley, to the families who lost their homes due to the volcanic eruption.
In addition, the Ministry is investing another 1,683,252 euros in urbanization works and drafting of installation projects for these 121 homes on the plots ceded by the affected municipalities. These works have been contracted with companies from La Palma to support and stimulate the productive fabric of the Island that was also affected by the eruption, as Minister Franquis promised at the time.
In addition to these 121 modular homes that are being installed, the Ministry has already delivered 116 homes to as many families who lost their homes because of the volcano. Five of these houses are also modular wooden houses that were installed and delivered in the municipality of Los Llanos several months ago. The rest are construction homes that were available in the Aridane Valley, a very limited housing market since most of those affected do not want to leave their usual living environment.
However, the social workers hired by the Ministry have detected a bag of several dozen families who do not mind leaving the Valley and the new 40-story building that the public company Visocan has just acquired in the municipality will be destined for them. of Brena Baja.
The Councilor for Urban Development of Los Llanos de Aridane highlighted the work carried out to prepare the assigned plot, which occupies some 13,000 square meters, and that “it was not easy to prepare, while now it is well advanced and we hope to have it ready for those affected by the volcano”.
