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Local government takes on Emergency Centre
T
he City of Orihuela will assume the responsibility for the long awaited work to complete the Orihuela Costa Centre for Emergencies, following the rejection of the regional government, Generalitat Valenciana, to deal with the project tenders. The Mayor of Orihuela, Emilio Bascuñana, announced that he has called a meeting for today, Tuesday 12th March at 10am, in order to approve the delegation of powers to the City of Orihuela for the completion of the works of the Centre. After more than a year without response from the Generalitat Valenciana, "we can carry out the works through the City Council, in the absence of commitment and management by the regional government," he said in a statement. The Local Department of Emergencies already presented the modified version of the project to the general director of Emergencies, José María Ángel Batalla, back in December 2017 and "it has not been until now when we have had a firm
answer on the matter, an answer that arrives very late". Now though, both the Mayor and the council insist that "the Generalitat Valenciana has had more than enough time to have tendered and executed these important works for our city, because it was their responsibility, and now we should be talking about opening the finished facilities, since it was in February 2018 when the regional administration gave its approval to the project presented by the City of Orihuela. The abandoned project has been the cause of much controversy since its scheduled development ten years ago. The Orihuela Costa – the coastal stretch governed by the ciy of Orihuela covering the likes of Playa Flamenca, La Zenia and Cabo Roig, is home to tens of thousands of residents, including many foreigners. The population can multiply fivefold in high season and coupled with an ageing population of expat retirees, the current provision of very basic emergency services has long been deemed inadequate.
Long awaited commitment
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