Malaga province tourist village which has been closed for 22 years available to rent

Eugenio Cabezas

Periana

Saturday, 29 March 2025, 08:40

Spain, Andalucía and Malaga province are full of public investments that have served absolutely no purpose, proving to be a waste of funds. In the Axarquía, the Vélez-Málaga tram, which hasn't operated since 2012 despite an investment of 40 million euros, is closely followed by the Villa Turística de Periana, a tourist complex that until last year was owned by the Junta de Andalucia. It cost seven million euros to build in the early 1990s but only operated for five years, from 1998 and 2003. It has been closed for 22 years.

The tourist complex was handed over to Periana town hall in April 2024 in compliance with a land transfer agreement signed by the Junta and the town hall at the time. Now the town hall has put the rental of the facilities for a starting price of 36,300 euros per year and a maximum period of 40 years out to tender. However, the lessee will have to undertake a major investment to renovate it, estimated, according to technical reports to which SUR has had access, at around two million euros.

The Villa Turística de Periana is located about three kilometres from Periana town centre in the hamlet of Cortijo Blanco. It is made up of 20 two-bedroom units, six one-bedroom units and 14 double rooms, as well as a main building where the reception, cafeteria, lounge, meeting rooms and restaurant were located. It also has a swimming pool and an orchard, among other facilities.

It was built in the early 1990s and involved an initial investment of 3.3 million euros. After four years of inactivity, and once it was finished, in 2007 the regional government carried out a series of reforms to modernise the complex for a further three million euros. From 2011 until last year it had 24-hour security through a company contracted by the Junta de Andalucía. The town hall has been in charge of the security and basic maintenance costs since it regained ownership of the complex.

The town hall contracted B&B Asesores S.L. to draw up the report and the administrative specifications for the tendering of the contract for the rental of the facilities. The deadline for submitting bids is 14 April. The documentation, to which SUR has had access, states that the Villa Turística de Periana "is classified as a heritage asset of the town hall".

"It is in a poor state of repair, with an expert valuation of 557,954.45 euros," according to a report published by the company Tasa on 15 February 2024. The report highlighted the need to "invest approximately 1.3 million euros, according to a report written by architect Jorge Frías in 2023, to incorporate it back into the tourist market," according to the technical experts.

Another report points out that "a fixed amount of just over 2.6 million euros has been deducted for expenses to modify and guarantee connections including waste water as well to repair damage".

"According to the tables provided in the valuation report, the economic viability of the project is guaranteed, calculated according to the net present value, as long as the contract period is for a minimum of 37 years, taking into account the estimated expenses and income that will be charged annually to the project," the report adds. According to the municipal technicians, the extension of the lease term of the Villa Turística, up to a period of 40 years, "is presented as the only solution to make the reforms and its subsequent use viable, from an economic-administrative point of view."

Mayor of Periana, Mertixell Vizuete, said that the reopening of the Villa Turística is one of the great challenges that have been pending for more than two decades and that if it is achieved "it will be a boost for tourism in the area". Vizuete, who became mayor after the death of Rafael Turrubia from a heart attack in June 2024, estimated that it could create around twenty jobs "and put us on the inland tourism map", she told Cadena Ser in the Axarquía radio station.