Nine million euros will be allocated to projects related to housing, innovation, roads, and issues tied to culture and the environment. That is the amount that the Tenerife Island Council will allocate to the municipality of La Laguna throughout 2015, representing an increase over last year’s allocation.
The island’s president, Carlos Alonso, appeared yesterday alongside the mayor of La Laguna, Fernando Clavijo, to report on these initiatives. The mayor, who thanked Alonso for his personal and institutional commitment, noted that the Island Council is the public institution that invests the most in the town, «even more than the Canary Islands Government.» He also emphasized the importance of planning to carry out these programs, which, moreover, «span the entire municipality.»
Alonso, for his part, emphasized that these types of investments aim to generate «the greatest possible impact» on job creation and «boost economic activity through small-scale interventions.» For the nationalist leader, there are two particularly important areas regarding the funds his institution will allocate to the municipality: the restoration of Las Chumberas and the future Science and Technology Park.
Housing. Alonso insisted yesterday that the Island Council «has been, is, and will continue to be on the front lines of the struggle of the residents of Las Chumberas.» The island government’s commitment aims to ensure the neighborhood’s full restoration. Alonso noted that they have fulfilled their financial obligations «from the very beginning.» Specifically, the Island Council will allocate 1.4 million to this project this year.
Meanwhile, it will also contribute 50,000 euros toward the renovation of 56 apartments in the Francisco Javier Centurión building. In this project, which involves several government agencies and runs through 2017, the Cabildo is covering 10% of the cost.
Innovation. In this investment category, the main project is the Science and Technology Park next to the former Hogar Gomero, a project involving nearly 15 million euros in spending to be allocated between 2015 and 2016. This year, the first 701,222 euros will be disbursed to begin construction of the urban park adjacent to the Hub. «The goal is to complete the development of the entire area according to a single set of environmental and aesthetic criteria and to ensure its functionality,» the Cabildo explained yesterday. This urban park will cover an area of 30,000 square meters, including a plaza, several sports courts, and facilities for health and wellness activities.
Roads. Another allocation of more than 700,000 euros (712,340) will be used to make improvements to roads owned by the island. The largest allocation in this category will be used to renovate the section of the La Esperanza Highway (TF-24) that runs through La Laguna, with a particular focus on upgrading its intersections. The areas of La Llavita and Cueva Roja, on the TF-111 (Los Campitos Road), will also benefit from the installation of sidewalks.
The president of the Cabildo acknowledged that the repaving of the TF-265, which runs through the town of Los Baldíos in La Laguna, will be particularly important. A «package of improvements to the pavement on several roads, including the Camino de Las Mercedes,» is planned. The pavement at the Padre Anchieta bus interchange will also be replaced again; this project is already underway and will cost nearly 375,000 euros. This renovation will not disrupt public transportation service and will use a layer of concrete «resistant to both direct and indirect traction.».
Municipal Cooperation. The year 2015 is in full swing between two multi-year Municipal Cooperation plans that, in total and through 2017, call for an investment of 1.2 million. For 2015, sanitation improvements worth 930,000 euros will be carried out in La Laguna. This includes the long-awaited installation of a sewer system in several homes in the Guamasa neighborhood: Suertes Largas, Los Rodríguez, Padilla Alta, and Leopoldo Morales. The La Candelaria area, in La Cuesta, will also undergo significant improvements of this type, totaling 299,000 euros.
Agriculture. County Council workers have planned to carry out work in the Agua de Dios ravine in Tejina to collect runoff water from the bypass that runs through it. The project will cost 200,000 euros and will involve upgrading the existing intake structure.
The institution will also take this opportunity to renovate the facilities it owns in the municipality. This includes the modernization of one of the greenhouses on the La Mosca estate (50,000 euros), which will house banana tree clones produced by Cultesa. Another 36,000 euros will be allocated to the construction of a new greenhouse on the same estate, which will be used to house the Cabildo’s own plants.
Environment. La Tahonilla is one of the Cabildo’s best-known facilities. This year, the plan is to renovate its facilities with 164,000 euros, part of which will be provided by the European Union. The renovation will be significant: a new storage facility, the paving of parking lots, public restrooms at the nursery, soundproofing of the X-ray room, and an ultrasound machine for the island’s wildlife rehabilitation center. This investment package also includes the second phase of the trail connecting El Batán with Lomo de la Codicia in the Anaga Rural Park.
Heritage. Given the characteristics of the municipality, whose historic center holds the title of World Heritage Site, this series of projects is particularly important. As previously announced, repairs are continuing at the Convent of Saint Catherine of Siena, and restoration work on the Church of Saint Dominic of Guzmán is resuming. The institution is resuming the restoration project for this church with its second phase, allocated 254,000 euros. The project includes the renovation of the parish halls and the rehabilitation of certain structural elements. «We have also signed an agreement for the digitization of the collections of the Diocesan Historical Archive, which, as you know, is the sole source of records for baptisms and marriages on the island for a certain period of history,» explained the president of the Cabildo.
The El Polvorín Multifunctional Space in Taco will also be renovated thanks to a budget of 60,000 euros.
Planning. Approximately 340,000 euros will be used to carry out other projects, such as new parking spaces in El Rocío and Finca Escuder. Also included here is «a small allocation of 13,000 euros» to commission the design of the repair project for the Bajamar seawall, which has been breached for over a year due to the continuous action of the waves in this area of the island.
