The regional government announces an international competition to complete the seafront promenades of Benidorm with an investment of 50 million euros

The Valencian Regional Government will launch an international competition for projects, with a budget of €3.8 million, to design the project that will complete the Levante and Poniente seafront promenades, effectively closing off Benidorm's coastline and creating an infrastructure that runs alongside the sea.

This was announced today by the Third Vice President and Minister of the Environment, Infrastructure, Territory, and Recovery, Vicente Martínez Mus, at an event held at Aula del Mar. Also present were the Mayor, Toni Pérez; the Regional Secretary for the Environment, Sabina Galindo; the Director General of Coasts, Ports, and Airports, Marc García Manzana; members of the City Council; and residents, including owners of the Gemelos 28 complex.

Martínez Mus explained that the project to complete the bay's enclosure will have a total investment of nearly €50 million.

The regional minister stated that this competition marks "the beginning of one of the most important urban and coastal regeneration projects in the Valencian Community," and emphasised that the regional government aims to attract "the best international talent to find an architectural and landscape solution worthy of a unique location like Benidorm."

The process will select the proposal that best combines architectural excellence, landscape integration, urban quality, sustainability, and technical feasibility. The winning team will draft the project, prepare the environmental impact study, and oversee the construction, while the second and third place proposals will receive prizes of €30,000 and €20,000, respectively.

The vice president explained that the plan is to launch the competition before the end of the year, allow approximately three months for proposal submissions, and announce the winning project during the first quarter of 2027.

A Continuous Promenade from Vicente Llorca Alós to Punta Llisera in Benidorm

The project will complete the pedestrian continuity along the entire Benidorm bay, strengthening the connection between the city, the landscape, and the sea. In addition to improving the urban and environmental quality of the waterfront, the project aims to make this space an international benchmark for coastal architecture and design.

The mayor stated that this project to complete the Levante and Poniente seafronts is “a very bold, exciting, and fair proposal,” and expressed his hope that “the Ministry will listen and understand that Benidorm needs this.” Therefore, he applauded the Generalitat's proposal to invite “the best design teams in the world to participate in this call for proposals to complete these seafront promenades, specifically the Poniente promenade from Tamarindos to the old town, and the Levante promenade from the old town to Punta Llisera.”

But beyond urban integration and improvement, and as the regional minister explained during the presentation, with this project the Generalitat (Valencian regional government) aims to "provide a definitive solution to a long-standing problem like that of Gemelos 28, which has remained unresolved for more than two decades," addressing this situation with legal certainty, urban quality, and the utmost respect for the environment.

The creation of this new section of seafront promenade, Martínez Mus pointed out, "means shifting the shoreline so that this conflict disappears," since by modifying "the coastal landscape," the towers would no longer encroach on the coastal protection easement zone. Therefore, "we achieve the dual effect of having a complete promenade, worthy of the city of Benidorm, and also indirectly resolving this conflict" by "preventing these buildings from having to be demolished and rebuilt, which is undoubtedly what was going to happen."

At this point, the regional minister recalled that the demolition of the Gemelos 28 towers, ordered by the courts, would have entailed “a public expenditure of 140 million euros for all Valencians, as a first estimate”; an option that “makes no sense, given that 50 million euros could be used” with the solution presented today, which also represents an environmental and civic improvement.

“We have to try,” Toni Pérez emphasised, after the regional minister reported that “we proposed this solution to the Ministry in March,” without having received a response to date. “We hope that all parties involved in this Gemelos 28 solution will join this initiative because I believe it is logical, that everyone understands it to be reasonable, and that Benidorm needs it,” he concluded.

Atención a las necesidades de Benidorm

Tal y como ha explicado el alcalde, el concurso internacional anunciado hoy para completar ambos paseos surge a raíz de una intensa reunión de trabajo mantenida entre el Ayuntamiento y la Conselleria. De ese encuentro, el conseller y su equipo salieron con una idea minuciosa de las necesidades de Benidorm, llegando hoy la primera de las soluciones. 

Toni Pérez ha agradecido “el compromiso desde el inicio del conseller y la Generalitat con Benidorm” y ha lamentado la falta de financiación estatal desde los años 90. “Creo que los paseos marítimos de Benidorm, que son de los más transitados del mundo, merecen más respeto y atención”, ha finalizado.