The Director of Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Orlando Umpiérrez, noticeably annoyed, asked: "Where is the Arrecife City Council going to get the money for the rainwater channeling works?".
In clear reference to the pronouncement of the mayor, María Isabel Déniz, who announced that the City Council would put the infrastructures out to tender in 15 or 20 days. For the Director of Water, there is excessive eagerness to "hang medals".
Without pressure
Umpiérrez also denied that the Executive acts in response to pressure, as insinuated by the Interinsular Federation of SMEs (Felapyme).
The Director of Water recalled that the file to develop the sanitation project of the capital was opened in 2004. "We do not act under pressure from anyone", he stressed.
Last Friday, the Water Directorate expressed its "enormous satisfaction" after the General Subdirectorate of Infrastructure and Technology of the Ministry of the Environment announced that, shortly, the Council of Ministers will give its approval for the projects to expand the sanitation networks of Arrecife and Puerto del Carmen to enter their final phase, so that, in approximately 6 months, both actions will be contracted under the Canary Islands-State Government agreement.
Arrecife and Puerto del Carmen
The two projects total an investment of more than 37 million euros, and their execution must go through a long administrative process, the culmination of which is the approval by the Council of Ministers, its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and, finally, its bidding, contracting and staking act.
Once the works are completed, both Arrecife and Puerto del Carmen will have an adequate rainwater evacuation system, so that the frequent floods that occur when rain occurs, however small its magnitude, will no longer occur.
Since 2004
The project to expand the Arrecife sanitation network, whose file dates from July 20, 2004, will have a budget of 19,737,548.78 euros, while the Puerto del Carmen project, which began its process on February 7, 2005, will cost 17,328,266.45 euros.
Regarding the works, it is important to highlight that, with the execution of the same, the tasks of installing the rainwater evacuation network of Arrecife and Puerto del Carmen are completed, making it unnecessary to carry out subsequent actions, so there is no incompatibility with other actions that may be developed in the future.
