Junta declares no environmental issues with planned hotel tower at Malaga Port

The new environmental report, just published, is an update of the one that expired and prevented the city council from approving the project last summer

Ignacio Lillo

Malaga

Wednesday, 10 May 2023, 22:03

The Junta de Andaluía has given its approval for the Malaga Port hotel tower to be built at the Levante dock, identifying no environmental issues in the project plans.

A new environmental assessment of the development was given the green light after the initial one, which was passed in 2017, expired.

One of the environmental issues that came up in the latest report was related to seabirds and the possibility of them flying into the 135-metre high building. But the team of architects and technicians agreed on a certain construction material that would minimise collisions.

It was also deemed the development would have little to no impact on surrounding flora and fauna, due to the urban zone it would be constructed in.

The Junta determined that the tower did not impede on any surrounding buildings or cultural areas: "It is not considered to cause visual or perceptive pollution as it does not impede or distort the accessibility of the other sites of cultural interest existing in the area of the historical centre of Malaga, being located at a considerable distance from it”.

Opposing views

The final determination considered the criticisms of the Association of Architects, Ecologists in Action and professor of Geography at the UMA Matías Mérida, who were all against the development.

The association’s main issue was the tower's "lack of integration into the city", especially with regard to the historical, cultural and archaeological landscape of Malaga.

Ecologists in Action shared a similar view and were concerned about the tower’s presence on the bay's skyline. They also raised the question of the impact of "sea storms, tsunamis or rising sea levels as a result of climate change".

Spokesperson for Defend Our Skyline, Mérida said the tower would seriously impact the identity and landscape of Malaga city and the bay.

"The visual impact would be very high, producing a huge visual basin, and would be visible from the main points of visual impact of the city and its surroundings,” he said.

With the approval of the Junta, it was left up to the government to give final approval for the project. Only the Partido Popular (People’s Party) supports the development, while the Socialists and the left have declared their total opposition.

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