New zip line adventure park initiative in Malaga's Sierra de las Nieves enters tendering phase

Julio J. Portabales

Casarabonela

Wednesday, 26 February 2025, 21:31

The Sierra de las Nieves National Park expands its sustainable tourism offer with a new adventure park with a zip line in the Viñas Arias area of the municipality of Casarabonela. The town hall has put the project out to tender, offering a budget of 100,000 euros to the company that wins the bidding process.

The project will consist of two sections, spanning a distance of more than 270 metres and designed to blend into the terrain, optimising the user experience. The first section, which starts in the eastern area, near the entrance to the site, will run 153.09 metres westwards to the interchange tower, with a height difference of 7.65 metres and an average gradient of 5%. The second section will start at the top of this tower and will have a length of 121.12 metres, a difference in height of 6.05 metres and will run in a north-westerly direction to the arrival platform.

The structure will be built with 12mm steel cables for the main route and 10mm for the safety and signal cable. It will also have a parallel signalling installation for the protection of birds. The infrastructure is designed to be compatible with the natural environment. The location and dimensions of the zip line have been determined based on technical studies of the terrain, as detailed in the project documentation.

The initiative is included in the plan for sustainable tourism, promoted by the association of municipalities of the Sierra de las Nieves, which has now opened the project for tender. The process has been open since Thursday 13 February and will close on Wednesday 5 March. Interested companies can submit their bids through the Plataforma de Contratación del Estado.

The budget for the tender is set at 100,000 euros, with an estimated contract value of 82,644.63 euros, excluding taxes. In addition, the deadline for completing this zip line is four months, starting from the awarding of the project. If all goes according to plan, the project should be completed by late 2025.

Funded by the European Next Generation EU programme through the Spanish government's recovery, transformation and resilience plan, the initiative aims to strengthen the region's tourism offer and improve the competitiveness of its municipalities with an environmentally sustainable model. The aim is to boost the local economy, attract new visitors and encourage the development of activities that complement rural and ecological tourism - fundamental pillars for the growth of municipalities such as Casarabonela.

The tender also establishes a series of environmental and social conditions, in line with the principles of sustainable tourism. The work must comply with criteria for the protection and recovery of biodiversity, adaptation to climate change and efficient use of natural resources. Bids will be assessed based on three main criteria: price, reduction of the execution period and extension of the technical guarantee period. Financial bids will be opened on 10 March 2025, after which the final contract will be awarded and construction will begin.