Benidorm starts the tender for the contract to install the reclaimed water network in Poniente

The Local Government Board of Benidorm City Council has approved the launch of the tender for the Phase I West Zone reclaimed water network project, which is part of the 2022 Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan (PSTD), Action 2B. The project has a budget of €384,999.95 and a three-month deadline for execution.

The contract constitutes a necessary action to achieve the objectives defined in the PSTD 2022 (Green and Sustainable Transition), part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR), Component 14, Investment 1, Submeasure 2, financed by the European Union with Next Generation EU funds, which allowed for the submission of proposals from local entities and autonomous communities, Benidorm Visión 360.

This plan included 13 actions grouped into four strategic axes. In this case, this action was part of Axis 1: Green and Sustainable Transition, which includes Action 2B "Phase I Reclaimed Water Network." The processing of the file will be carried out as usual, and the procedure will be open.

The work will be carried out in the western area next to the beach, an area with a high concentration of pedestrians. Therefore, as explained by the Councillor for Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, "it is vitally important that the successful bidder implement the necessary work safety, organisational, and environmental measures to ensure the work is carried out without causing accidents of any kind."

Regarding the evaluation of the proposals, two mathematical criteria have been established, each weighted at 75 points. Thus, a reduction in the base tender price will be weighted at 50 points, and the inclusion of improvements to the sanitation infrastructure will be weighted at a maximum of 25 points. The technical criteria for the bids, meanwhile, will be scored out of a maximum of 25 points.

González de Zárate noted that Benidorm City Council "is about to finalise and submit to the plenary session the drafting of a Reclaimed Water Master Plan and has installed various supply points and sections of reclaimed water pipelines in several areas of the municipality, as part of the work we have carried out on public roads to renew hydraulic infrastructure."

In this regard, in Poniente, urban developments have already included specific pipelines for reclaimed water, "although these are still pending connection to the main pipeline that links them to the general reuse infrastructure of the region," supplied by the Benidorm WWTP.

The project will execute the first phase of the reclaimed water mainline for irrigating parks and gardens in the Racharell ravine area, with an estimated potential demand of 6,300 homes, 156,000 square meters of public green areas, and 127,000 of private green areas.

González de Zárate emphasised that the implementation of this reclaimed water network "will make an important contribution to the municipality's environmental sustainability by reducing pressure on drinking water resources and allowing its use in non-potable urban applications, such as irrigating green areas and other landscape and public service uses."