Benidorm will halt work on the second phase of the renovation of the catenary on Paseo de Levante due to the arrival of the summer season

Starting June 12, renovation work on the second phase of the overhead power lines on Paseo de Levante will be temporarily halted in anticipation of the arrival of the summer season, ensuring that users of the area do not have to deal with the construction work in a location that experiences a massive influx of people. The decision was made after a meeting between municipal officials, the contracting company, Elecnor, and the project management, according to the Councillor for Urban Scene, Francis Muñoz.

It should be noted that this project is being implemented through the Benidorm Visión 360 (Benidorm Vision 360) Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan, which is itself included in the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, financed with funds from the European Union (Next Generation EU). The work was awarded last March for €854,885.07 and a completion period of eight months.

According to the Councillor for Public Space, a visit was carried out this morning to assess the work, who emphasised that "it is progressing favourably." So far, the work has coexisted with the pedestrian flow typical of the promenade, "but now there is a significant peak in tourists, and the decision has been made to temporarily suspend the work to avoid compromising the safety of the work and pedestrians while protecting our tourism." The suspension will last from June 12 to September 1.

Muñoz emphasised that what has been done so far "will be integrated into the promenade, and before stopping, a layer of mortar will be placed on the column support points so that they can be walked on. The fences and stockpiles of material will also be removed to make the promenade as functional and comfortable as possible."

It is worth remembering that this phase of the catenary renovation covers the section between Avenida de Europa, where the first phase was completed, and Calle Metge Miguel Martorell. On this point, Muñoz once again lamented that "while the local government fulfils its commitments to the city and its citizens, the central government continues to neglect its responsibilities by failing to execute this project, which, by its responsibilities, should be its responsibility."

The councillor recalled that the public lighting installations and the existing overhead lines on the Levante Promenade "were built in the 1990s, as part of the construction of the Levante Beach Promenade, through a tender implemented at the time by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and the Environment."

Three decades later, "and faced with the need to renew the entire infrastructure both due to the passage of time and to adapt it to more modern and energy-efficient technologies," Muñoz recalled, the City Council executed the works on the first phase of the project, on the section from Plaza del Torrejó to Avenida de Europa, with an investment of €1,972,119.41, financed entirely with municipal resources, resulting in a reduction in energy output of more than 33.65%.

In this regard, the councillor emphasised that the Levante catenary has already garnered awards and recognition for the city, "such as the one we received in Madrid from the EnerTic platform for the iconic nature of the project and its energy efficiency."

Francis Muñoz, who stated that the project for the third phase of the catenary renovation "is in the drafting phase," took the opportunity to "apologize for any inconvenience this work may have caused pedestrians, but the shared goal is to complete it so we can have a renovated, functional, and iconic catenary."