SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 13th Jan (EUROPA PRESS) –
The leader of the Socialist Group in the Tenerife Cabildo, Pedro Martín, has urged the president of the corporation, Rosa Dávila, to “prioritise the interests of Tenerife and unequivocally demand that Santiago Calatrava take responsibility” for the extensive damage sustained by the Auditorium, which is estimated to be in the millions of euros and arises from hidden defects in the construction.
Martín elaborated in a statement that “the Cabildo granted Mr. Calatrava a year’s reprieve so he could finally announce that he would not oversee the repairs and would not cover the costs of over 24 million euros.” “What benefit does this agreement bring to the public interest of Tenerife?” he questioned.
The Tenerife Auditorium is not only a significant landmark on the island, but it has been contentious since its inception, as the final construction expenses escalated to three times the original budget of 26.7 million euros, emphasised the socialists.
Ultimately, a total of 74 million euros was disbursed from public funds, with significant damages reported due to flaws in its design and construction, all while the Canarian Coalition governed the Tenerife Cabildo, they specified.
Consequently, after years of inaction, in May 2022, the governing party led by Martín himself decided in the Government Council to compel the Valencian architect to prepare the repair plan, alongside accepting its financial burden.
Moreover, he was allotted a timeframe of 19 months to submit the document, which was meant to be ready for the Tenerife Cabildo by January last year.
However, without any justification for this decision, the governing group (CC and PP, with external backing from Vox) opted in November 2023 to provide Santiago Calatrava with additional time to draft the repair proposal, a choice that Calatrava contested in court and subsequently lost.
Not only that, but as acknowledged by the Council, it will also use public funds to cover the costs of the necessary management and the work in a subsidiary capacity, which presents yet another hurdle for the eventuality that the private party will be responsible for these expenses. Furthermore, the project has been submitted late, a delay attributed by the corporation to the DANA event experienced in Valencia, as pointed out by the PSOE.
The most recent estimate of the repair costs was conducted in 2022, as indicated in a technical report issued in May, which totals the direct and indirect expenses of the repairs at 24 million euros.
Due to this, Pedro Martín has appealed to Rosa Dávila to cease allowing the architect to “fool” the people of Tenerife and to insist that he take responsibility for a crucial project for the island, which incurred significant financial commitments and yet suffers from “incomprehensible damages” that, at first glance, “the Cabildo of Tenerife will bear, not those who are accountable for it.”
The PSOE’s general secretary reminded Dávila that, despite the “steadfastness” of the socialist Government, “she has not hesitated to provide Calatrava with every possible concession without insisting on the appropriate accountability.”
