The Water Consortium is making progress on the Benidorm desalination plant that will supply water to the towns of the Marina Baixa region

The Marina Baixa Water Consortium met today in Benidorm to address various issues related to the management of water resources in this region. The General Meeting was chaired by the Mayor of Benidorm and President of the Alicante Provincial Council, Toni Pérez. As usual, representatives from the different organizations that make up the Consortium participated in the session, including the Vice President of the Provincial Council and Deputy for the Water Cycle, Ana Serna; representatives from the Júcar River Basin Authority (CHJ); and mayors or councilors from the seven member municipalities: Benidorm, La Vila Joiosa, Finestrat, l'Alfàs del Pi, La Nucía, Polop, and Altea.

During this meeting, it was announced that the Water Consortium continues to make progress on the project to build a desalination plant in Benidorm to supply water to the towns of the Marina Baixa region. Thus, according to its technical director, Jaime Berenguer, the organisation has provisionally awarded the contract for drafting the project for this plant to the joint venture I4WATER-CAINURSOLUCIONES NORTH LINE, an award that is pending final approval. The plan is for this desalination plant, which will have an approximate budget of 25 million euros and will be financed by the regional, provincial, and Consortium governments, to be operational by 2028 and generate approximately 6 cubic hectometers of water for the supply.

Furthermore, the Consortium has reiterated the need to request new investments for the Marina Baixa region from the central government, through the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and the Júcar River Basin Authority, and for infrastructure development similar to that received by other areas within the same basin. Among them, the inclusion and development of a new desalination plant in the Marina Baixa within the River Basin Management Plan for 2028-2033, which could provide at least another 6 cubic hectometers to guarantee the necessary resources.

Economic and supply balance

The General Assembly of the Consortium also addressed other items on the agenda this Friday. Among them was the appointment of Nati Algado, mayor of Finestrat, as a member of the Consortium, replacing Juanfran Pérez Llorca, now president of the Valencian Regional Government.

Likewise, the body unanimously approved the collaboration agreement with Acuamed for the arrival of the necessary external water supplies, thus ensuring the region's water supply for the remainder of the year, regardless of any rainfall this spring. On this point, the Consortium's technical director reported that, although the rainfall in recent months is still below what could be considered optimal, it has allowed for an increase in surface water reserves of around 6 cubic hectometers, as well as the partial recovery of the Algar, Aitana Sur, Beniardá, and Polop aquifers.

The extension of the collaboration agreements with the irrigation communities of the Lower Algar Canal, Altea, and La Vila Joiosa has also been ratified.

Among the accountability items, information was provided on the emergency work carried out to repair damage caused to the CV-715, the road to the Callosa d’en Sarrià cemetery, as well as on the settlement of the Consortium's budget for the 2025 fiscal year. It is worth noting that the organisation closed the last fiscal year with a Treasury surplus for general expenses amounting to €5,871,794.58.