A tender has now been approved for the drafting of the project for the construction of a new civic centre on the Orihuela Costa.

It proved such an occasion that virtually all of the government team attended the photo call, made during the announcement by the mayor, Emilio Bascuñana.

The building, a Multifunctional Centre, will be located on a plot of in C / Madreperla de La Zenia, close to Zenia Boulevard, with an area of ​​12,298 m², of which it is intended to use 6,000 m².

The centre has been one of a number of long time demands by residents of the coast but it is only recently that the council has begun to take heed. Following a number of meetings with different groups from around the Orihuela Costa, the councillor of Citizen Participation, Almudena Baldó, has now been able to prepare a list of requirements, the basis of which will be used to formulate the design.

Baldó explained that much of the existing green area will be maintained while the facility will be equipped with a surface parking area of ​​about 1000 m2 and, in order to be able to host large events, and taking into account the climate, it will have an open-air auditorium with a covered stage and with a capacity for more than 2,000 people ”.

The main building will have a ground floor area of ​​980 m2 with a basement of about 400 m2. It will consist of a number of different rooms that will be available to clubs and groups, which will broadly be multipurpose rooms where courses, workshops, and talks can be held.

There will be an area for a gymnasium, changing rooms, an administration area, and finally an auditorium with a capacity for approximately 400 seats. The rest of the plot will provide walkways and landscaping.

The centre will bl just across the road from Zenia Boulevard
The centre will bl just across the road from Zenia Boulevard

The mayor, Emilio Bascuñana, explained that the construction of the centre is estimated to cost two and a half million euros and while waiting to see the architects design resulting from the tender, “we are also assessing the provision of a library on the same site, yet another facility urgently required  on the coast.”

The mayor continued, “We should congratulate ourselves, because we know what we want, and we hope that it will soon become a reality, along with the many other projects that are now either close to completion, under consideration or in planning, such as Coastal Emergency centre, the storm drains in La Zenia, the Playas de Orihuela school, the AP-7 Bridge and the many other actions that we will gradually make a reality for the residents of the coast”.

The base budget of the tender for the drafting of the project is 76,201.56 euros with an execution period of three months from the signing of the contract, although it could be reduced to a maximum of 5 weeks.