The City Council confirmed the firm contract proposal for the renovation project to Cobra IS, a company part of the Cobra Group. As a result, the renovation work on the La Plasa Market structure in the centre of Torrevieja is expected to be completed by the end of this term.
Buybacks and assurances
Mayor Eduardo Dolón (PP) announced the project six years ago, leading to a protracted process. The cost has risen to over €13.5 million. The contract is valued at €8.2 million (including VAT), with €300,000 allocated for project draughting and a comparable sum for construction management.
Additionally, the City Council must account for the 4.3% related to the contentious repurchase operation that enabled it to reclaim the surface rights to the three floors above the food market, which it already owned.
In 1995, the City Council transferred ownership of the property to a real estate developer for a period of 50 years in order to construct a retail centre that was unsuccessful in the municipal market. The Mercado de Abastos building’s original traditional architecture was demolished in order to establish this shopping location with plants. Currently, the municipal market is home to only eight vendors, as opposed to the fifty that were operational three decades ago.
The simplest offer has resulted in Hozono losing their contract
The proposal that was chosen was the one that achieved the maximum score across all technical and economic criteria among the ten companies that participated in the bidding process. The governing council will award the contract soon.
The technical specialists’ evaluation has favoured Grupo Cobra due to its technical project, which was assessed based on the subjective criteria set by the officials who conducted the evaluation. This assessment was in line with the second cheapest of the ten offers, but not the cheapest.
Grupo Hozono had submitted the most advantageous price of 8 million euros, which included a discount of over 10%, as has been the custom for significant public works infrastructure projects promoted by Torrevieja City Council over the past two terms. However, the Murcia-based company was ultimately unsuccessful in securing the contract this time. Hozono’s award of the city’s main public works contracts for multi-million-dollar sums marks a break from a streak that began in 2020. Grupo Cobra, the successful vendor, decreased the tender price by 8% from the initial 8.9 million euros.
Construction commences in September
The initial estimate has been reduced by 15 weeks, as the Cobra Group has suggested a 14-month completion period. Consequently, the PP government team anticipates that the completed works will be presented in the lead-up to the 2027 municipal elections, provided that the project remains uncomplicated. It is still uncertain whether the concession for the new municipal commercial space will be awarded.
Construction is anticipated to commence at the conclusion of September 2020, provided that no funds are submitted to the tendering process. Depending on the timeframe, the first quarter of 2027 is the anticipated completion date. In order to expedite the commissioning of this “strategic infrastructure for the city centre,” the specifications permit the partial delivery of the building. However, the municipal press release does not specify the location of the eight stalls that remain in the municipal market.
A corporation will be granted a concession to manage the Food Market by the City Council
The City Council has initiated the process of submitting the new Municipal Market for administrative concession, which includes the ground floor and the first-floor mezzanine, in parallel with the procurement process. In other words, the Market will be managed by a private corporation, which will be responsible for common expenses and rents that will not be charged at municipal rates. This is an effort to revitalise the Market. This affirmation, which the Popular Party emphasised in its press release, was in the background when it declared that this was an unclear aspect during the project presentation.
The market will feature 30 stalls that will cater to both local commerce and cuisine. The objective is to establish a new urban hub that fosters a blend of modernity and tradition. The City Council anticipates that the eight remaining stalls will remain in operation and will be offered at a discounted rate “as a demonstration of the City Council’s dedication to the vendors who have sustained the commercial activity of the building.”
The tender for the construction management contract has been approved by the Local Government Board. The budget is €306,222.48, and the deadline for submitting proposals is 30 calendar days from the date of publication.
Remodelling
The present building is the subject of a comprehensive renovation as part of the project, with the objective of enhancing its urban integration and establishing a completely new image. The removal of all opaque facades, which currently give the market its gloomy and hermetic appearance, is a fundamental premise. Currently, only half a dozen of the 40 stalls that operated two decades ago remain. These spaces will be substituted with glass surfaces, thereby establishing a visual connection with Plaza Isabel II.
The governing team has announced that it will offer reduced prices to the eight remaining vendors in the market, which will be reduced from the fifty that were previously present. It is not specified where they will be relocated after the construction work is completed, and it is beginning to omit the name “La Plasa” when referring to the building.
According to the Torrevieja engineering firm of Cayetano Bernabé, the final project has integrated “a second exterior skin that shades the glass façade, maintaining a balance between energy efficiency and urban aesthetics.”
According to the City Council, which has already presented the project three times since 2023, the renovation involves the partial demolition of the first-floor slab, which will “create a double-height central atrium, surrounded by a perimeter mezzanine that will provide fluidity and visual spaciousness to the complex.”
Thirty years afterward, a “gastromarket”
The local government has guaranteed that the new space will accommodate 30 stores, despite the fact that the area designated for the food market has been significantly reduced in an effort to facilitate the building’s external access. The market will be able to more easily meet the challenging task of meeting demand in the new project as a result of the potential for catering spaces, which will emulate the trend of gastro-markets in large cities that were able to preserve their traditional buildings. This will also resolve the current, lamentable, and dilapidated appearance of a nearly empty food market. The main floor will be illuminated by two skylights, which will be a critical aspect of the new structure.
The market’s design, as the People’s Party (PP) has emphasised on numerous occasions, is intended to be “a dynamic, open, and accessible space.” A natural transition between the public space and the interior of the building will be established by the construction of a continuous path on the ground floor that connects directly to Plaza Isabel II. The first-floor mezzanine and the upper levels will be accessible via a spiral staircase situated in the central core. Additionally, the first floor will include an open-plan hallway for user transit and relaxation, as well as complementary spaces such as lavatories, emergency stairs, storage rooms, and a technical area. Additionally, the City Council’s intentions regarding the upper floors remain uncertain.
The Cobra Group has emerged as a new municipal supplier. This marks the organisation’s inaugural municipal contract. It is an international public works company that specialises in renewable energy, infrastructure, engineering, and more than 20,000 employees. It operates in 43 countries and generates annual revenues of 3.4 billion euros.
Author: Derek Appleton
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