On Thursday 28th, the Plenary of the Mijas Town Hall unanimously approved a motion urging the national government and the Junta de Andalucia, within its competences, to build a desalination plant in the municipality. The aim is to guarantee the supply of drinking water to the population both for human consumption and for cultivation, taking into account the increase in population expected in the coming years.

The motion was presented by the spokesman for the popular group, Mario Bravo, who spoke about the drought situation in the area, which he described as “cyclical”. “In recent years, droughts have become more intense and more frequent. However, the need for constant supply has increased and the storage capacity has not”, the councillor explained. 

 

For her part, the mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), pointed out that the Marbella desalination plant has recently been extended, “although the restrictions that are still in place show that it is not enough to serve the whole region”.  

“Now, we have two advantages, the first is that we are by the sea, so we will never lack water, and the second is that we could currently feed the operation of this desalination plant with photovoltaic panels, which would reduce the cost of this service”, Bravo said. 

 

In this respect, the spokesman for Vox, Juan Carlos Cuevas Dawson, stressed the idea that “the Spanish Government, headed by the PSOE, must assume its responsibility as the competent administration and must finance the execution of this project, which benefits us as residents but also tourism”. On this matter, the PSOE councillor Josele González pointed out that “with the aim of reaching an agreement, from the PSOE we present an amendment [which has been approved] to the initial motion of the PP, with the intention that both the Junta de Andalucía and the state government come to an agreement so that this desalination plant in our municipality becomes a reality as soon as possible”. 

 

In response, the popular spokesman added that “there are also more administrations that could influence the implementation of this desalination plant project, such as Acosol or even the Provincial Council of Málaga, not just the Junta de Andalucía and the central government”. Ciudadanos also supported the proposal, although its spokesman, José Carlos Martín, recalled that, since 2011, Andalusia has had an autonomous canon for water infrastructure that “is hardly being used”, he said, “it is not only important to promote initiatives such as the desalination plant, but also to solve the problem we have with the pipes that transport water, which break day in and day out, so it is also necessary to invest in them”.

Share it with this link: https://mijasint.com/?a=32813