The unfortunate condition of the city’s gardens and trees, as well as the decades-long neglect of large areas designated as green spaces in the PGOU since 1986, are among the most common complaints from Torrevieja residents to their city council.
Until now, the maintenance service for green spaces and open areas was provided based on a 2008 draft. This was awarded to La Generala (later renamed UTE Actúa-STV), which was responsible for the contract since then, which expired in June 2022 after exhausting its ten-year term and four one-year extensions.
The contract was therefore completely outdated. Torrevieja Mayor Eduardo Dolón highlighted this fact and spoke of the “many difficulties” involved when presenting the update to the fundraising event on Friday, accompanied by Councilor for Parks and Gardens Concha Sala and the director of the award-winning company, Manuel Pérez.
Actua, part of the Hozono Global group, was selected to manage this service for the next 15 years with a budget of €111 million.
The contract covers the maintenance of 362 public spaces, including parks, gardens, squares, sports facilities, and playgrounds, with a total area of more than 2 million square meters. This represents an increase of 800,000 square meters compared to the current 1.2 million square meters.
To achieve this, the number of specialists will double from 59 to 113, and the number of vehicles and machinery will triple from 25 to 68 units. This fleet will include both light, heavy, and specialized equipment, enabling greater coverage and faster response times. Dolón emphasized that this partially justifies the enormous financial outlay associated with this contract.
Improvements
In addition to maintenance work, the contract also includes improvement measures such as the renewal of plant species, the modernization of facilities, and adaptation to accessibility, safety, and sustainability criteria.
The service will also have an immediate action plan that will enable rapid intervention in more deteriorated areas. This includes planting seasonal flowers, adapting roads, roundabouts, and access points to the city, as well as the supply and installation of planters and ornamental planters.
New Spaces
Another important element is the growth of green spaces in the city. In the coming years, 14 new parks and gardens are to be created, and more than 15,000 trees are planned to provide the necessary shade and oxygen. The cost of this is €8.2 million. Sala described the project as “an exciting project to make Torrevieja a greener, healthier, and more livable city.” She pointed out that more than 90,000 square meters of new space will be created and highlighted the measures in Parque Mar (6,500 square meters), which will also include the installation of a sports area and children’s playgrounds. Other projects are planned in Gran Canaria Park (5,878 square meters), which will include a leisure area, and in Sector 25 (70,000 square meters), where a route will lead from the city to Alto de la Casilla. This project is intended to “surprise” without providing further details. Improvements are also planned for the Othello (3,800 square meters), Tirso de Molina (6,500 square meters), and José Lorca (760 square meters) areas.
In addition, a permanent technical office will be established to coordinate the measures, as well as a citizen service point and an informative web portal for reporting incidents. This portal will provide real-time data on the status and progress of the work, from the time of complaint to resolution.
A Commitment to Sustainability and Technology
Another innovation will be the integration of computerized management systems that will enable more efficient task management and planning. This tool will facilitate incident monitoring, resource control, and decision-making based on up-to-date data.
The service will also include innovative software for managing green spaces, trees, furniture, and playgrounds, as well as a fleet monitoring system to track vehicle locations in real time using geolocation.
Regarding environmental issues, the contract is committed to sustainability. Electric vehicles, low-consumption machinery, and irrigation control technologies such as moisture sensors and remote controls are being used to help optimize water use and reduce energy consumption.
Dolo concluded by emphasizing n that the new service begins with a clear focus on the future: the urban environment is to be improved through the care of the landscape, people are at the centre, and environmentally friendly management is emphasized.
