You can understand a generalised scepticism concerning the new Motril Marina amongst people along the Costa Tropical and inland Granada, because, after all, there have been many marinas proposed.

But we’re talking about Motril Port, not some vote-generating ideas for improbable marinas along Velilla, Cotobro or Playa Portichuelo in Almuñécar or anywhere else along the coast of Granada; because the port already exists as does its small marina area. So this is the big one; the one most likely to come about.

Well, believe it or not, the project is finally facing the final stretch of administrative processing and could well take the form of demolitions and construction cranes within the port area in 2027, to make way for a marina of 426 berths, together with a shopping centre and restaurants & bars.

The 426 berths will be along floating, concrete pontoons, which can cope with boats from four to 80 metres in length. In other words, they will be able to provide berths for large yachts and mega-yachts; something that is unavailable on the Costa Tropical at the moment.

On dry land, there will be a dry marina with 180 spaces and a shipyard of more than 21,000 square metres, equipped with two travelifts (giant cranes that lift boats out of the water) of 110 tons and 450 tons, with a 13-metre beam. It will also have workshops for maintenance and repair tasks.

The old warehouses occupy 100,000 sq/m of space, which will be torn down and the ground on which they stood excavated to create a large water basin to extend the water-surface area of the port. So that you can get your bearings, we’re talking about the port area near Playa del Cable.

Some consider a starting date within 2027 as optimistic  – it is already a year behind schedule, after all.

The developer behind the project is Marina Motril SL, which is the result of a joint venture between Marina Motril (the company currently managing the dry-docking space at the port) and the Granada-based energy group Cuerva. They, or it, won the contract in December 2023 and since then it has been a litany of jumping bureaucratic hurdles.

If the new marina materialises; i.e., construction work begins in 2027, it will be 42 years after the Marina del Este came into being, which is the only other marina on Costa Tropical.

One of the major hurdles to clear will be the environmental impact study, so keep your fingers crossed that an endangered species of whelk, or something along those lines, is discovered, which is what scuppered the plans for a paseo running between the old sugar factory in La Caleta (Salobreña) and the sea.

The project is also a plan to turn the port into a major tourism destination within the province, providing 10,170 sq/m of shops and various other services, including eight restaurants, a nautical centre, a beach club, a car rental point, a tourist office and a laundry service.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia – Source: Mercedes Navarrete/Ideal)

Keywords: Motril Marina News, Berths, Shopping Centre, Restaurants, Workshops, Mega Yachts, Marina del Este

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