The municipality of Puerto de la Cruz is set to award a new concession to a company responsible for the Integral Water Cycle this coming May. This marks the most substantial contract undertaken by the Council to date, a pivotal move designed to address the serious sanitation issues within the town that led to the closure of Garden beach for nearly nine months. The concession will encompass a total sum of approximately 400 million euros and will be granted for a duration of 40 years.
The revamped concession for the Integral Water Cycle responds to the “urgent” necessity of tackling the Garden beach dilemma, as asserted by the mayor of Puerto de la Cruz, Leopoldo Afonso, along with the Councillor for Administrative Concessions, Pedro Antonio Campos, during a recent press briefing. The current administrative concession, which oversees the provision of drinking water, sewage, and stormwater services, expired notably four years ago, on 6 September 2021. During this period, according to the aforementioned municipal officials, “there have been no significant investments in sanitation and supply, which has fostered the current scenario” of wastewater issues that affect not only Garden beach but also locations such as the San Telmo bathing area and the Martiánez complex.
The primary aims of the new concession are to extend the duration from the existing 30-year contract awarded to Aqualia to 40 years and to establish “a supply and sanitation system that strictly adheres to current regulations”, as highlighted by Pedro Antonio Campos. Control mechanisms will be implemented to ensure the regularity and quality of user services, thus mitigating the implications of the water crisis in Puerto de la Cruz. Furthermore, it aims to enhance the quality of drinking water and resolve any potential discharge crises in the city once and for all.
The concession will encompass an investment programme of 28.4 million euros, and forthcoming works are expected to be executed within an 18-month timeframe. These will include enhancements in filtration and network stability, the establishment of a desalination facility, as well as initiatives to legalise and relocate pumping stations, alongside efforts to redevelop the Punta Brava neighbourhood by improving its sanitation infrastructure, one of the factors contributing to the sewage spills that have led to the ongoing closure of Garden beach.
