A chain reaction in Estepona has caused the cessation of building work being carried out in calle Málaga and calle Caridad.
The situation regarding building works taking place in old urban centres is that archaeological tests have to be performed at the start of any such works and, if any discoveries are actually made, professionals must be present throughout the entire project in areas where there could be further traces.In this case, the site was found to contain artifacts dating back to Roman times. The archaeological work has to be paid for by the company carrying out any construction works.
Cospel S.A. were awarded the €1.6 million contract to make improvements to the water and drainage systems, telephone and electricity cabling systems, lighting and pavements. The work was initially broken down into six phases and with a completion time of one year.
However, it seems that Cospel S.A. have not been paying for the archaeological work and, as a result, this has now stopped. That puts a halt to the entire project, as the archaeologists are required to be on the site throughout the project.
Cospel S.A., for their part, are complaining that the local Council has not made any payments to them since the start of the project. So it all grinds to a halt, merely adding to the ‘standard’ or ‘normal’ delays involved in building projects.