Benidorm will increase the number of capacity control cameras on the beaches of the second phase of Levante Promenade draped light garlands

The Local Governing Board of Benidorm City Council approved this morning a previously planned modification to the contract for the renovation of the draped light garland along Levante Promenade, Phase II, to increase the number of spans and cameras for monitoring beach capacity. The modification follows a request from Red.es to install more cameras in the spans of the lighting system. A span is defined as the space between each of the overhead contact line columns; therefore, by adding more spans, the overhead contact line will have more support columns.

The second phase of the Levante overhead contact line renovation extends from Europa Avenue to Metge Miguel Martorell Street. The contract was awarded to Elecnor Servicios y Proyectos SLU for €854,885.07. This project is being carried out through the Benidorm 360 Vision Tourism Sustainability Plan, which is itself part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, financed by the European Union's Next Generation EU program.

The approval by the Governing Board entails drafting a revised project plan. The 22.24% reduction in the original bid submitted by the winning company will be used to cover the necessary increase of €168,942.77. As explained by Councillor for Urban Scene Francis Muñoz, this modification "does not represent an expenditure for the municipal coffers, but will be offset by the reduction in the bid submitted by the winning company." This will allow, Muñoz stated, "meeting the request made by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, through Red.es, to install more capacity control cameras on the beach."

The councillor also clarified that the revised amount is lower than the reduction offered by the company, “and does not exceed 20% of the initial contract price, so there is no impediment to proceeding.” The drafting of the revised contract “will in no way entail the temporary suspension of the work,” Francis Muñoz emphasised.

This phase of the overhead line renewal covers the section between Europa Avenue – where the first phase ended – and Metge Miguel Martorell Street. The contract to renew this section of the iconic overhead line along the Paseo de Levante and all its infrastructure was awarded through a standard, open bidding process, as stipulated by law.

The councillor recalled that the public lighting and overhead power lines along the Levante Promenade “were installed in the 1990s, as part of the construction of the Levante Beach Promenade, through a tender issued at the time by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and the Environment.”

Three decades later, “and given the need to renew the entire infrastructure both due to age and to adapt it to more modern and energy-efficient technologies,” the local government decided to undertake a complete renovation of the overhead power lines after the central government refused to do so. Thus, the City Council carried out the first phase of the project, covering the section from Torrejó Square to Europa Avenue, with an investment of €1,972,119.41, entirely financed with municipal funds, resulting in a reduction in energy consumption of over 33.65%.

“Not only have we become more efficient and significantly reduced CO2 emissions, but this project has also earned our city awards and recognition for its sustainability,” Muñoz emphasized, lamenting that “as has already happened with many other infrastructure projects, such as the first phase of the overhead power lines, the access roads to the commercial sector, or the so-called second phase of Poniente Promenade, this project should be financed and carried out by the State, but once again we have encountered a further dereliction of its responsibility.” According to Muñoz, “Benidorm will probably be the only municipality in Spain with a seafront promenade where the Ministry is failing to fulfil its authority and responsibility.”