Ambitious plan for massive expansion of Marbella port is back on track

La Bajadilla marina would have the capacity for more than 1,200 vessels, including cruise ships and megayachts, and potentially create 3,000 jobs.

Conceived more than a decade ago as one of Marbella’s most important projects, the expansion of the port at La Bajadilla has been stalled for years. Now, the Junta de Andalucía is resuming its plans for the troubled initiative and the 30-day deadline for environmental objections has just closed.

A consortium involving controversial Malaga CF owner Sheikh Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani was awarded the contract in 2011 but the Junta de Andalucía withdrew the concession from the sheikh.

The company that will be in charge of carrying out this extension is UTE Marina Internacional, which although it lost the public tender in 2011 when Sheikh Al-Thani won it, it was awarded the contract years later after the controversy unleashed around the former Málaga CF president.

Project blocked

The Temporary Joint Venture (UTE) of Sheikh Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani, Nasser Bin Abdullah & Sons, was awarded in 2011 the project for the expansion of the marina of La Bajadilla in Marbella. The initial investment for the construction of the harbour works stood at 84 million euros and 7.5 million for the commercial areas, although the final budget – including the development of the services – could be around 400 million euros. As far as job creation forecasts are concerned, it was estimated that there could be around 500 new jobs in the construction phase, between 1,000 and 1,500 in the operation phase and around 3,000 direct jobs. The new port of La Bajadilla would have a capacity for more than 1,200 vessels including cruise ships, mega yachts and medium and large ships thanks to a circular design.

The whole initiative generated great expectation in the town at the time, however, the development of the project did not progress over the years. In 2016, the regional authority withdrew the concession from the sheikh for non-compliance with several points to which he was obliged, among them, the delay in the delivery of the project for more than four years.

Other ports

Apart from the extension of La Bajadilla port, Marbella is planning to redevelop the port of Virgen del Carmen. Although it is in an embryonic state, the council’s idea is to promote this space once they manage to renew the concession for another 25 years.

In this way, the technical teams are already working on a proposal that is being drawn up with the support of a specialised consultancy firm. “It is going to be a major project that will transform the nautical zone, the commercial and leisure areas and that will be committed to sustainability,” explained the mayor, Ángeles Muñoz, at the last meeting on the subject.

As a result, it will consider more than twenty lines of action such as the reorganisation of the 350 moorings to provide berths for longer vessels, the relocation of the harbourmaster’s building and the fuel tanks, improvements to the sewage and drainage network, as well as the installation of photovoltaic panels and small desalination plants to improve energy efficiency.

Source: SUR in English, July 2024