Vélez-Málaga appears to be attracting potential investors with two huge projects already being proposed, although it remains to be seen whether either will see the light of day.
One group has proposed constructing a commercial centre along the lines of Málaga Nostrum and Bahía Azul, the location being near the highway.
The second proposal is for a €750 million tourist resort including, amongst other things, a marina for over 1,000 boats, an 18 hole golf course, 2,446 residential homes, 8,561 hotel rooms, a boulevard near the old N-340, a seven kilometre promenade, over seven kilometres of cycle tracks and vast green areas and parks. The location is the delta of the rio Vélez.
The resort would be called ‘Fenicia’ and the Council is already in possession of a preliminary study presented by the group of promoters involved. The complex would occupy a total area of 4,076,437 square metres, although only 689,449 square metres would contain buildings.
The promoters envisage that the whole project would take 12 years to complete – 2 years to sort out the necessary planning permission, two years for infrastructure works in the area and 8 years for actually building the complex – and would create a total of 5,000 jobs. This is in addition to the roughly 600 jobs per year which would be created during the phased construction period.