The opening of the Great Park of Mijas remains uncertain after a new delay

The opening date for the Great Park of Mijas, the large-scale project that the local council is executing on an area of almost 270,000 square meters at Cortijo del Ahogadero, in Las Lagunas, remains uncertain. Although the completion of this natural and recreational space was initially scheduled for last May, by the end of June, the Council stated that the work was pending "a series of civil engineering and landscaping finishes" and pointed to a new completion date: July 9th. However, there will be another delay after the Council rejected the reception of the work.

Sources from the Council claim that there are still "small details" in plumbing and landscaping to be finalized, and they have given the contracting company, the Temporary Union of Companies (UTE) formed by Vías y Construcciones, a company owned by Dragados, and the local firm Transportes y Excavaciones Arroyo, until July 31st to address these issues. Vías y Construcciones admits that some "finishing touches" are missing and that the action will be fully completed "very soon", with a cost amounting to 27.45 million euros, equivalent to 20% of the Council's budget for this year.

Waiting for the Maintenance Contract

The reception of the work will mean that the Council will take over the park, and currently, the local administration of Mijas does not yet have the capacity to do so. At the end of January, the Council tendered a contract for the maintenance of this space, and more than four and a half months after the deadline for submitting bids, it still has not been awarded.

The last act of the Contracting Board was on July 10th and resulted in the exclusion of five offers and the admission of the 22 that will finally compete for the contract, divided into three lots, with a contract duration of three years. Thus, the tender is in its final stretch.

The main lot includes gardening and irrigation, cleaning and maintenance of children's areas, bio-healthy devices, urban furniture and equipment, as well as pavements and perimeter fencing, and was tendered for 2.35 million euros annually. Another contract will be made to maintain the facilities (technical rooms, maintenance and cleaning of fountains and lakes and splash park, supply and sanitation networks, telecommunications, electrical network and lighting), with an initial budget of 544,000 euros, and a third for the surveillance of the park, valued at about 392,000 euros. In total, 9.88 million euros for the three years of the maintenance and surveillance contract, about 3.29 million annually.

However, presumably the final cost will be significantly reduced in view of the bids submitted. The price of each lot consists of a fixed fee and a variable fee, and bidders have submitted bids with notable reductions in both cases and in all lots.

A Project from 9 Years Ago that has Undergone Changes

The Great Park of Mijas began to take shape about nine years ago. In June 2023, the work was awarded by the previous Corporation led by Josele González, and in August the first stone was laid. After the motion of censure that brought Ana Mata to the Mayor's office of Mijas in November of that year, the project underwent some modifications.

The Council decided to postpone the construction of access bridges that were planned from the cemetery and from Venta La Morena. Additionally, they proposed a change in the type of specimens planted in order to reduce water consumption. Thus, if initially a consumption of 2,350 cubic meters of water per month was contemplated, it will finally be about 350, a 300% reduction. The change resulted in a modification of the contract that did not increase the cost or the execution time.