The president of the Port Authority, Javier Sánchez Simón, was also present at the event, who was pleased with the "good collaboration between administrations" and assured that they will speed up the necessary permits in "record time" so that the City Council can assume the management for its maintenance, which had expired.
The Ministry of Tourism has allocated, through the Island's Infrastructure and Tourism Quality Plan, 107,535.38 euros for the execution and installation of a large element of urban furniture, the Olameda sculpture, on the Maritime Avenue of the city of Arrecife, and 2,396,960.88 euros for the rehabilitation of the Islote del Amor, in La Fermina.
Islote de La Fermina
The Islote del Amor (de la Fermina) has an occupation area of 14,350 square meters and was carried out according to the Minister of Tourism, Rita Martín "to improve the quality, comfort, aesthetics and functionality of the services and facilities for the benefit of the public interest".
According to the Ministry, the rehabilitation work of the Islote de la Fermina constitutes a special action, of a markedly artistic nature, of design, carried out in an environment of difficult access because it is a small rocky island, whose only entrance is a small wooden bridge for pedestrian use.
The project on which this work is based dates back to about 20 years ago, when, driven by the Lanzarote artist César Manrique, the works began, which, due to lack of budget, were left unfinished and in a dilapidated state as the years went by. The Regional Ministry of Tourism resumed that unfinished idea in 2006.
Olameda Sculpture
In addition to the Islote de la Fermina, the Olameda sculpture by Lanzarote architects Blanca Cabrera and José Rafael Ramírez was also presented this Friday. Located on the promenade of the capital in the direction of Playa Honda, the urban furniture sculpture has had an investment of 107,535.38 euros and is formed by a concrete structure covered with a wooden pergola. Thus, it has a total of three large benches to sit on, as well as a fountain, a shower and some bars for practicing sports. "Being formed by modules, it can be repeated in other places on the island", explained Ramírez, who reported that "the most expensive thing has been to create the concrete molds".
The Minister of Tourism of the Canary Islands Executive stressed that in the case of the sculpture, the physical and climatic conditions of the area have been taken into account. In this sense, she stressed that "it has been designed to protect from the sun and wind, very important factors on this island, and to be a shady grove that refreshes the walker while contemplating the sea".