ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 19th March 2017

The Corvera airport saga dominates the Murcia news along with weather extremes at the end of winter

There's no doubt about it, there have been two main talking points in the Region of Murcia over the last seven days, with the weather going from one extreme to the other in just 24 hours on Monday and the perennial debate over the two airports in the Costa Cálida rising once again to the top of the regional news headlines.

After months of apparent stalemate in the attempts to move towards the opening of the new Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera this week was an eventful one, with the Aena airport management company and the regional government defying each other over the proposal to close the existing airport at San Javier.

For a long time it has been assumed that the signing of an agreement to close San Javier to civilian traffic would occur before the new management contract at Corvera is put out to tender, but over the weekend Pedro Rivera, the minister for Infrastructures and Development, announced that the government would approve the tender conditions this Wednesday, urging the management of Aena to agree to the San Javier closure conditions beforehand.

On Tuesday it was reported in the regional press that Aena had no intention of responding to what is being viewed as an “ultimatum”, and this proved to be the case: the following day the opening of the tender process was confirmed for later this month, opening the curtain on a new phase in the long-running saga at Corvera.

The consequence of this decision is that anyone who submits a bid to manage Corvera for 25 years will do so in the knowledge that a potential competitor is only 30 kilometres away in San Javier: the airport may close in the future, but then again it may not.

Meanwhile, Murcia-San Javier is currently performing relatively well: in February passenger numbers were 91% higher than last year, and after two months of 2017 the cumulative total is now 95.3% more than last year, providing more fuel for the argument that in the eyes of some airlines San Javier appears to have become little more than an overflow outlet for the airport of Alicante-Elche. In addition, on Thursday trades unions called another demonstration afternoon to demand that the airport should remain operative for civilian traffic.

However, the government is confident that Corvera will attract interest. The regional minister for Development and Infrastructures asserts that a third of the traffic at Alicante-Elche airport “corresponds to the Region of Murcia”, and that this guarantees sufficient passengers to make Corvera more than viable, and at the same time, a press release from the department headed by Sr Rivera explains that the opening of the airport in Corvera will bring an additional 800,000 tourists to the Costa Cálida in its first four years of operation.

The main image shows Pedro Rivera proudly presenting the contract tender document.

From July to January in 24 hours!

The Region of Murcia plunged back into winter on Monday morning, following new record March temperatures of well over 30 degrees during the weekend, as cold and extremely wet weather swept across south-eastern Spain bringing torrential rain, gale-force winds, snow on higher ground and a considerable amount of work for emergency services all over the Costa Cálida who were alerted to over 500 weather-related incidents during the day, despite the conditions improving markedly in the afternoon, most of them related to localized flooding, impassable roads and fallen trees, road signs and other objects.

Landslides in the mountains partially blocked the road through the Mazarron mines and in Molina de Segura around 20 homes were rendered uninhabitable by floodwater, while further inland there was even snow in the Sierra Espuña and the north-west of Murcia!

The results were clearly visible on the beaches once the rain cleared: if the task of presenting the beaches of Murcia in their best light by mid-April was already a race against time, in some cases it will now have become a sprint, as much of the work which had already been completed will now have to be performed again. All of the authorities concerned are doing their utmost to achieve their objective, but of course they cannot legislate for the vagaries of the weather, and it is hard not to feel sympathy for those who will now have to repeat a job which they finished, in some cases, just last week!

Meanwhile, spare a thought for those living just up the coast in Alicante: if the weather was bad in Murcia, in the capital of the Costa Blanca it was even worse: a total of over 137 millimetres of rainfall in just 24 hours made Monday the third wettest day on record over the last 80 years!

However, by the weekend the weather was once again absolutely glorious, with temperatures above 20 degrees right across the region and the fair weather set to continue until Tuesday.

The Mar Menor and other environmental news

Cartagena university thesis confirms Mar Menor green filters will work: phosphates and nitrates are eliminated by microorganisms with the help of the right soils and plants.

Green belt to encircle Aguilas from Calabardina to Calarreona: the municipality of Águilas in the south-west of the Region of Murcia has been selected to head up the European “Life Adaptate” project, which aims to design and develop a common method to approach the task of designing plans to implement sustainable energy projects and combating climate change.

San Javier opens first official dog park: the new facilities in Parque Universidad are part of an ongoing park improvement program in San Javier.

Águilas seed bomb scheme under way to reforest the mountains of the area: a hugely commendable project in Águilas involves schoolchildren and Alzheimer sufferers in regenerating the natural environment.

New underwater weaponry room at Museo Naval in Cartagena: the Spanish navy museum in Cartagena expands its exhibition space.

Lorca man arrested for trafficking in protected species: a stuffed lion and elephant tusks were among the items confiscated in Lorca, which also included trophies of white rhinos, hippos, giraffes, leopards, zebras, black bears, wolves and deer.

Excess desalinated water granted to farmers from San Pedro del Pinatar plants: Murcia remains on drought status despite the winter rain, and special measures can still be implemented by the regional government.

The giant sardine will arrive in Murcia by parachute this year! Sometimes the world of Spanish traditions and fiestas is a difficult one to fathom out for the uninitiated, and for many the news that the giant sardine will arrive in Murcia this year by parachute from Alcantarilla might seem like a nothing more than a rather surreal series of misprints. However, on this occasion at least the news has been reported correctly: click for further details!

Three arrested in Bullas for burgling Town Hall-owned premises: the keys to local schools and libraries were recovered from the arrested.

Mula and Moratalla drumming festivals move closer to World Heritage status: the Easter tamboradas in the north-west of Murcia are on the UNESCO shortlist.

San Javier pilgrims reach the castle of Javier in Navarra: the pilgrimage is an annual event in honour of the saint after whom San Javier is named.

Lorca police dogs to provide therapy for the disabled: visits will also be made to encourage social skills at primary schools in Lorca.

San Javier motorway speed gun is the fifth most productive in Spain: almost 30,000 drivers fell foul of the speed trap in Balsicas last year. 

Cartagena Town Hall urged not to neglect outlying districts: this need was stressed on Tuesday to the Mayor of Cartagena by representatives of ACEDU, an association which is formed by traders and businessmen based in El Carmolí, Punta Brava, Estrella de Mar and Los Urrutias, on the shore of the south-west of the Mar Menor who also requested more promotion be given to the area. 

Archena school evacuated after earthquake fright: the tremor measuring 2.3 Richter was centred near Lorquí and caused alarm among pupils in Archena.

11 Dutch drug traffickers arrested after raids in Lorca and Puerto Lumbreras: arrests were made in Sevilla and Malaga as well as the Region of Murcia, and plantations were found at two locations in the Costa Cálida.

Moorish Murcia now visible to the public in the Plaza de San Esteban: this Thursday the Town Hall of Murcia began the process of removing the metal and vinyl fences which for the last couple of years have surrounded the archaeological remains of the old Moorish city in the Plaza de San Esteban, and locals and visitors will now be able to look down on the remains of what was once one of the poorer quarters of the Moorish city of Mursiya in the 12^th and 13^th centuries.

Dead body found in Cartagena harbour could belong to 65-year-old Irishman: the body was spotted near the Escala Real in Cartagena on Wednesday morning.

Murcia immigrant advisory council to be created by PP: the latest data show that there are currently 201,255 people of non-Spanish nationality living in the Region of Murcia, and the intention is that every effort should be made to encourage their integration and participation at all levels of society.

Two arrested for insurance fraud in Lorca: at least 30 fake car insurance policies were sold and paid for in the municipalities of Lorca, Totana, Alhama de Murcia, Águilas and Cartagena.

Spanish property news

Spanish national news

Spain and Catalunya still on course for head-on collision over independence referendum

Arguably the biggest ongoing story in Spain this year concerns the attempts by the regional government of Catalunya to hold a Scottish-style independence referendum during the year, a policy which has brought about a head-on conflict with the national government in Madrid.

The latest development this week is that the verdicts and sentences were returned at the trial in which former Catalunya regional president Artur Mas and two of his colleagues were accused of civil disobedience in relation to the holding of an “informal independence consultation” on 9th November 2014, with the result being that Sr Mas is barred from presenting himself as a candidate for public office for a period of two years. 

Unless the verdict is overturned, the most important consequence of this decision is that it would be illegal for Artur Mas to stand as a candidate for the PDeCAT party if the next regional election in Catalunya were to be brought forward by current president Carles Puigdemont, a possibility which has often been mooted in the event of this year’s proposed full referendum on the issue of independence in Catalunya being banned by the courts. Neither will his candidacy be admissible if the referendum is held and is followed immediately by a regional election, as the Catalan government’s “route map” specifies. 

In response, the Catalan government has since vowed to fast-track its referendum plans: expect this story to dominate the news for months to come!

Other items in the Spanish national news: 

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