Visiting area of Malaga's Roman theatre to be extended to allow access to baths

Works to extend the Roman theatre and garum factory visiting area in Malaga have been put out to tender again.

The contract was launched last summer but was not awarded, so the Junta has re-issued it with the same budget: 93,333 euros. After four years of modifications and delays, this will be the first work to extend the archaeological visit in ten years.

In addition, the tender will allow people to visit the remains of one of the few documented buildings in Malaga from the early Roman period, the baths.

These ruins, which predate the theatre itself, can be found under Calle Alcazabilla and near the garum basins that belonged to a large fish salting factory that developed on this entire hillside after the theatre fell into disuse in the third century. At present, these large vessels for the production of the famous fish sauce that was exported to Rome can be observed from the glass pyramid opened in the pedestrian area beside the Roman theatre - although this project will allow visitors to go down and access the ruins.

The project, designed by architects Lola Miralles and Gerardo Úbeda, will be carried out in the southwest area of the Roman theatre. The project envisages that the ruins under the road will be able to be viewed from a higher level, creating a wooden platform that will connect with the existing walkways. The project is scheduled to take six months to complete.

After the first tender was declared void, the regional ministry of culture hopes more companies will this time be interested in the project, which is already several years behind schedule, as the drafting of the project was commissioned in 2020 to the Almeria-based company Unión para la Mejora de la Construcción (UMC).

According to the terms of the tender, the maximum budget of 93,333 euros is co-financed by the European Union, with companies having until 21 June to submit their bids.