Countdown to the new grand park in Málaga: this is the scheduled opening date for Benítez

Although they were supposed to have finished in October last year, the works to transform the grounds of the old Benítez camp into a large park for Málaga ... are still underway. As reported by the City Council last August, the delay is due to modifications introduced in the initial project that involve an increase in budget and an extension in the timeline for the completion of the works.

According to the Municipal Urban Planning Agency, last December it finally approved a modified project for the park that entails an additional cost of 1.8 million euros, bringing the total amount of the intervention to nearly 12 million euros, as it rises to 11,890,493 euros with the increase.

Furthermore, the timeline for the completion of the works has been extended by five months from the approval of the modified project, which was endorsed in the early days of last December. Thus, if no new delays occur, it looks like the park works could be completed by the beginning of this coming May.

There are several aspects of the works where Urban Planning has introduced changes to improve the initial design of the park or due to issues that could not be considered when it was approved. Thus, as detailed in the report of the modified project, buried debris from previous military uses of the area that were unknown have been found, and a shallow buried medium voltage electrical network, which has required modifications to the sewage network.

The surface layer of the park's main road has also been improved to last longer, more trees will be planted to create shaded areas along the paths, and the drainage system of the area has been reinforced, especially after observing the effects of recent episodes of heavy rainfall.

Metal Pergolas

Following new soil studies, it has been decided to replace pergolas that were initially designed in concrete with lighter metal ones. Additionally, in some areas, the pavement will be reinforced with steel mesh because heavy vehicle traffic is expected for park maintenance.

New nets will also be installed to prevent balls used in sports courts from hitting some of the park users, and the picnic area's urban furniture is going to be changed because the initially installed furniture was removed at the start of the works and is now located in other recreational areas of the city.

On the other hand, the tree planting plan is being modified to introduce species that require less water consumption, and cypress trees that have been damaged by drought will be replaced. Similarly, Urban Planning plans changes in the lighting, the park's fencing, video surveillance (increasing the number of cameras), and the supply network, which will be carried out with regenerated water from the Guadalhorce treatment plant.

Municipal officials have also finally decided to relocate the planned dog park to the area between the internal road traffic lane and the suburban railway line. This allows for expanding the area dedicated to this use to about 10,000 square meters where benches from the surroundings of the Santo Domingo church will be installed.