Councillor for Planning, Rafael Almagro, announced on Monday, that Orihuela Council are set to receive 14.5 million euros from their latest sale of land on the Orihuela Costa, five plots of residential land, located in the area of La Zenia for an amount that is 2,606,000 euros more than the initial value put on the land by the council valuers.

He said that the figures “show that there is a clear economic recovery within the construction sector as a result of which there will be an unexpected windfall in municipal assets, which exceeds the last land auction, held in 2013, by 50%.

In addition, the purchasers will be responsible for the pending urbanisation charges, and any other debts that the Consistory had in respect of the land.

The councillor stated that the government team is committed to allocate monies resulting from the sale of municipal land proportionally to the coast, districts and the city of Orihuela, quite probably as financially sustainable investments, “within of the long list of pending investments that we have”.

On the Orihuela Costa the money will be used to fund the building of a new Cultural Centre as well as repairs to roads, parks and gardens in the region while in the city it will fund improvements to the railway station in readying it for the arrival of the high speed train. There will also be a new sports centre as well as bike lanes in districts and funds to develop the DUSI strategy (Sustainable Urban Development).

The land has been purchased by the real estate division of Grupo Marcos, TM Real Estate Group and Madrid-based Suncoast Golf. Three of the plots are located in an area called Los Almendricos (PAU-26), and two are in sector E-2 of El Barranco , all of them in La Zenia.

The most expensive plot was bought by Suncoast Golf for 6.6 million euros; TM Real Estate Group, the second, with 4.1 million and the three remaining plots went to the Marcos Group: one of 800,000 euros; another of 1.1 million euros and a third, awarded for 1.5 million. All of them are destined to residential urbanisations