ALICANTE is targeting Next Generation funds from the European Union recovery and resilience mechanism to promote projects worth a reported global value of €126 million.
The bid comes through the Department of Project Co-ordination directed by the councillor Toño Peral (PP) enabled by different ministries, which hopes to achieve an average of 80% of the investment value of each project.
Preliminary
The project is presently a preliminary list of requests that will not be formalised officially, until each of the projects in which they will be used is opened, the councillor said. “The concession of the first €27 million that has been registered is practically taken for granted, because they are bids that will be directly allocated.
“They have already confirmed from the respective ministries that the required criteria are met,” said Councillor Peral, stressing that, except for improbable variation, the transfer of those first funds will take place before the end of the first semester of 2022.
“The rest will be received by December 31, 2023, with the obligation that all actions paid for with those contributions are finalised three years later”.
Redevelopment
These proposals include the redevelopment of Avenida de Jijona and Calle Sevilla.
Among the proposals incorporated in the first tranch, for a total investment of €27 million, are initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable urban mobility that are included in the programme for the implementation of a Low Emission Zone in the city.
The proposal is divided into two different areas, the Traditional Centre and the upper ring configured around the perimeter of Gran Vía, with package including the pedestrianisation works of the Constitución-Bailén axis, planned to be addressed from January, with a budget of €1.8 million.
There are other actions related to the introduction of new technologies in the council administration to improve relations with citizens and facilitate the provision of services, and to improve the security conditions of the municipal computer systems against cyberattacks, for example.
Smart City
The projects are grouped under the umbrella of the Alicante Smart City plan, co-ordinated by the Modernization area.
Other projects include actions framed in the Social Inclusion Plan including the new Public Building Rehabilitation Plan (Pirep), which includes initiatives for a global value of €25 million (refurbishment of the town hall building) (the institutional headquarters of the City Council); the second phase of the architectural recovery plan of the complex Las Cigarreras, the recovery and musealization of the old La Británica refinery (€15 million first phase), the Alicante Cultural and Conectada and Alicante Verde plans, with projects also in the castles of Santa Bárbara and San Fernando.
Initiatives include the construction of a new floodplain park in the Vía Parque, in the Los Angeles neighbourhood, valued at €8 million and the Energy Plan Sustainable, for the installation of solar energy generation systems in municipal facilities, budget of €9.3 million, and tourism sustainability.
The government team, the bipartisan team of Popular Party (PP) and Citizens (Cs), approved at the Local Board, the creation of a municipal commission to monitor the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, to watch over and monitor the status of the projects presented to obtain said European funds.
This commission will be made up of the councillor of Project Co-ordination, Antonio Peral and the councillor of Finance, Lidia López, the heads of the Project Coordination service, the Mayor’s Office, Finance and Contracting; together with representatives from Legal Services, Human Resources, Environment, Urban Planning, Infrastructure and Traffic and Mobility.
