The social and health centre in Guía de Isora, conceived over ten years ago as a crucial facility for the elderly community in the southwest region of Tenerife, remains under construction. Notwithstanding political assurances and investments made, the initiative has encountered interruptions, disputes and multiple postponements. Last October, it received 3.7 million euros from the Next Generation European funds for equipment provision and the replacement of vandalised elements; however, further delays will extend its completion by a year to fully utilise these resources.
Initially, the Cabildo aimed to finalise the project by the first half of 2025, but it now anticipates that completion will not occur until June 2026 in order to make use of these European funds. Delays during the pandemic, theft of wiring, and another halt due to the health issues of the engineer overseeing the project have led numerous politicians to regard it as almost a jinxed endeavour.
The development commenced in 2010 when the Guía de Isora City Council, under Pedro Martín (PSOE), demolished the old school buildings in the town centre and financed the initial phase of construction, amounting to 1.2 million euros. This facility was to include 75 residential spaces and an additional 20 day-care spaces. As per Martín, due to the Cabildo’s refusal to invest, the municipality undertook the project, “managing to construct nearly 50% of the building.” Although construction proceeded well initially, it was halted in 2011 due to the repercussions of the financial crisis.
By 2014, the Government of the Canary Islands allocated 400,000 euros to revive the project. Nevertheless, operations ceased again in March 2015. Three years later, the Cabildo resumed the work with a duration of 10 months. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the construction faced another standstill. To complicate matters, the theft of wiring in 2021 and extensive damage to the electrical infrastructure, estimated to cost around 3 million euros, significantly inflated the initial budget, necessitating a comprehensive reassessment. As it stands, according to Águeda Fumero (PP), advisor for Social Action at the Tenerife Cabildo, “the construction is 20% complete.”
Martín defends the efforts undertaken during his tenure on the island: “We have given the government the opportunity to advance the work. This is the clearest evidence of CC’s inaction for years, which forced us to utilise municipal funds.”
Marian Franquet, the former island councillor for PSOE, criticises the current island administration for failing to plan for the creation of social and healthcare facilities by 2025. “They have issued numerous promises for nearly 3,000 spaces, yet we established over 1,000 in the previous mandate. By 2025, not a single new one will be completed,” he asserts.
Petition for Completion
Ana Dorta (CC), the mayor of Guía de Isora, who was in opposition in 2013, initiated a petition that garnered 2,705 signatures to urge for the completion of the socio-health centre.
At present, Dorta is cautious regarding timelines: “We are proceeding with determination, but I will not set deadlines. I do not wish to mislead the residents with promises that I cannot fulfil,” she stated yesterday.
