The Arrecife City Council has made its position clear: it does not want a low-cost gas station on the plot located in front of the National Police Station, in the Naos area. The Corporation Plenary has today approved a motion presented by the Municipal Group of the Canarian Coalition by which the Port Authority of Las Palmas is urged to prioritize and support the educational project promoted by the Cabildo of Lanzarote for said location.
The initiative, defended by the spokesperson for the Canarian Coalition and Deputy Mayor, Echedey Eugenio, responds to the institutional and social rejection that the possibility of granting an administrative concession for a service station on that site has generated. Faced with this business proposal, the Cabildo has promoted an ambitious educational project to implement an integrated training center with university degrees and specializations in strategic sectors such as maritime-port, blue economy and professional training.
“The location of Naos cannot be at the service of private interests when there is an alternative with a public vocation and enormous transformative potential for Arrecife and for the entire island”, said Echedey Eugenio.
“We are risking a lot. This educational project not only raises the educational level of our young people, but also opens up new opportunities for economic diversification. The decision made by the Port Authority must be up to the future we want to build”, he stressed.
In its explanatory memorandum, the motion recalls that the Cabildo's project has the support of entities such as the Lanzarote Chamber of Commerce, the University Foundation, the Tourist Federation, the Confederation of Businessmen, the Island Delegation of the Government, the Fishermen's Association and even the National Police Station itself, which have filed allegations against the installation of the gas station.
Likewise, the legal viability of the educational project is highlighted, under the protection of article 83 of the Consolidated Text of the Law on State Ports, which contemplates the granting of direct concessions to public administrations for projects of general interest.
With the approval of this motion, the Arrecife City Council officially joins the institutional front that rejects the gas station and is firmly committed to the creation of the new educational center in Naos.
Finally, the agreement includes requesting the mayor of Arrecife, in his capacity as representative on the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, to actively defend this alternative in the next meeting of the port body, scheduled for this month of June.