Cartagena port transformation begins
Vast new square to be constructed to open the city up to the sea
THE FIRST phase of a plan to totally redesign Cartagena’s seafront from the Navidad lighthouse to Cala Cortina is due to get underway this week.
The project is being funded by city hall, the port authority and Murcia regional government. It is designed ‘to transform the seafront into a modern, vibrant and innovative space as a centre for socialising’, announced city hall.
Mayoress Noelia Arroyo said this would finally achieve the integration of the port and the city they had wanted for many years. It will start with the €28 million project – which has been named ‘Plaza Mayor’ – to be carried out by the port authority.
Sra Arroyo said it will create the grand plaza the city has never had – ‘a place for residents and visitors to meet, and the ideal entrance for cruise passengers’.
The square will cover 243,000 square metres, restoring Plaza Héroes del Cavité as an area to relax, eliminating kerbs, installing benches, and planting native and Mediterranean species of vegetation, she stated. It will continue down to the seafront, replacing the asphalt on the Paseo Alfonso XII with paving, removing the
‘forest’ of lampposts to create an open space with moveable plant pots illuminated by spotlights on one side.
The other large area will be the Plaza Cartageneros del Mundo, with moveable pergolas with plants and solar panels, as well as fixed pergolas with climbing plants, and lighting along the promenade.
And along the ledge of the dock there will be eight benches in stands to rest and enjoy the view. The lighting incorporated into the pergolas, benches, stands, stairs and ramp will use DALI technology to control its intensity automatically so that different atmospheres
can be created.
Port president Yolanda Muñoz said it has been designed with people in mind, and will also showcase the city’s historical heritage.
There will also be a gastronomy and leisure area with two restaurants with terraces overlooking the sea, an ice-cream parlour and a concert hall intended to promote emerging bands from the city and region, added businessman Alfonso Torres, owner of Trips disco in La Manga.
While all this is going on, the plans are being drawn up for phases four – from the Paseo de la Marina to the cruise terminal - and five – a garden with sporting facilities and recreational spaces.
Phase four will include reorganising the pedestrian and vehicle routes and adding an area for buses to collect cruise passengers from the terminal, removing the steps from the marina promenade to make it more accessible and building a shopping arcade.
Readers should note that Cartagena already has a Plaza Mayor – at an inland section of the city next to the Cerro de los Moros hill.
The new ‘Plaza Mayor’ project is a separate venture.