_ Soltalk February 2023 _ Soltalk 24 / 01 / 2023 16:52 Page 14
News
Library grant
Nerja is to receive € 1 million from the provincial government to help pay for the town ’ s new municipal library . The threestorey facility will be built on an 800 square metre site close to the Balcón de Europa and has a budget of € 1.32 million with the balance to be funded by the municipality . The project has presently reached the stage of finalising technical details .
Around Viñuela
A project to create a 24 kilometre path and cycle lane around Lake Viñuela was expected to get underway last month . Some 42,000 shrubs and trees are to be planted in the area , plus a further 2,000 trees , such as ash and poplar , which are suited to river banks . The project has been designed by the Diputación de Málaga ( the provincial government ) with a budget of € 4.5 million .
AVE at 15
Málaga celebrated the 15th anniversary of the arrival of high-speed rail travel in the city just before Christmas . Since its inauguration on 23 December 2007 , over 30 million passengers have used the AVE services to Madrid and elsewhere . Meanwhile , the new Antequera-Ciudad station was expected to open late last month , enabling a direct high-speed link between Málaga and Antequera city centres .
Drugs disguise
National Police in Málaga have broken up a gang which distributed hashish in fistsized balls made to look like tomatoes . Ten people were detained last month with the seizure of 22 tonnes of drugs disguised as pallets of the fruit . The investigation into the gang ’ s links with criminals in Córdoba continues .
Saint recognised
The Vatican has formally recognised the Patron Saint of Torre del Mar . Our Lady of Carmen is also patron saint of those who work on the sea and of the brotherhood of Nuestra Señora del Carmen . The town celebrates its patron every July while other municipalities enjoy similar arrangements later in the month .
See Jottings on page 24
Nerja health centre approved
Plans for Nerja ’ s new health centre have been formally approved by the regional health service . On December 30 , the town ’ s mayor , José Alberto Armijo , confirmed that the Regional Ministry of Health had issued a favourable report on the basic project .
It has been 20 years since the municipality and the Junta de Andalucía agreed to jointly finance a new , larger health centre in the town . The aim was to replace the present , cramped building in calle Carlos Millón - a long-awaited objective which now appears to overcome the final hurdle .
The project has a budget of € 9.5 million and is expected to take 20 months to complete . The site on the bank of the Chillar River in the town centre was urbanised by the Town Hall last year in preparation for construction to begin .
The new facility will have two floors and a basement on a site of 4,520 square metres , and will offer 26 consultation rooms , ten more than in the present building . It will also have five multi-purpose rooms and five
More progress has been made on construction of Málaga ’ s coastal pathway , the Senda Litoral , which will eventually run for 185 kilometres along the province ’ s coastline . The project which was launched in 2017 is already 85 per cent complete and last month saw the announcement of plans for two more stretches to be developed .
The first , in Torrox , is a € 1.2 million project to construct a 163 metre , three metre wide wooden footbridge across the River Torrox . It will connect with another new section which will form a wooden paved stretch from the Punta del Faro area
First institutional visit of the president of the Junta de Andalucía to Nerja
paediatric consulting rooms , plus minor surgery and dentistry rooms . There will also be space available for health education , physiotherapy , electrotherapy , rehabilitation consultations and radiology , plus a critical care and emergency department .
Visiting the site of the facility on January 11 , Andalucía ’ s president Juanma Moreno described the news as an example of “ institutional collaboration between administrations .” He stressed the importance of the development in Nerja which , he added , “ is a municipality which contributes decisively to the Andalucía brand and which is a benchmark in the tourism industry .”
Coastal footpath new plans
to the El Peñoncillo beach .
Meanwhile in Rincón de la Victoria , an 18 metre long , six metre wide wooden pedestrian walkway has been announced . It will take walkers over the town ’ s Granadillas arroyo and has a budget of € 875,000 .
The projects , both of which are to be financed by Málaga ’ s provincial government , the Diputación , will form part of the footpath which , when complete , will run from Nerja in the east to Manilva in the west . It will pass through 14 municipalities and is expected to attract over nine million tourists per year .
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