PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 07/07/2022

ARCHIVED - Protected cultural asset, the Embarcadero del Hornillo, undergoes 1m-euro refurbishment

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Work has started to renovate the Hornillo jetty in Águilas, which is expected to last up to six months

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Protected cultural asset, the Embarcadero del Hornillo, undergoes 1m-euro refurbishment

The restoration work on the Hornillo jetty in Águilas, which has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (‘Bien de Interés Cultural’ or BIC), began this Wednesday, July 6. The work, which has a six-month completion period and an investment of one million euros, is being paid for by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda (which is contributing 750,000 euros) and the local coffers in Águilas.

The work to refurbish this emblematic infrastructure will focus on the first 54 metres, where boards will be replaced, street furniture and lighting will be installed and a study will be carried out to determine the condition of the structure.

The rehabilitation project of the pier consists of three phases. The manager of Albaida Infraestructuras, Ramón López, explained on Wednesday that “in this first phase we are trying to establish an intervention criterion, as the jetty has never been remodelled before. Now we are focusing on cleaning all the pillars that make up the vertical structure, so that we can assess the damage they have. All of this will help us to establish a course of action, which will allow us to differentiate which elements need to be replaced, which need to be restored and which can be repaired.”

He continued: “the pier is not in a bad state, despite being 120 years old. Over years of use, it has suffered deterioration due to its location and the work it was subjected to, but the engineers applied a protective treatment that has preserved it quite well”.

He added that this structure “is in very good condition for the use it has now, as it will not have to support trains loaded with minerals or iron, as was the case before. In any case, it will be much better when the work is finished.”

The Mayor of Águilas, Mari Carmen Moreno, the Councillor for Culture, Maido Simó, and the Councillor for Contracting, Cristóbal Casado, were also present at the inauguration of the work yesterday.

Councillor Simó said it was “a day of joy for Águilas. In six months’ time we will be able to see this first section completed. This is a work in progress. If the work is delayed, it will be justified, because the jetty must be restored with the utmost criteria and professionalism.”

She continued: “The works of this first phase of the project are expected to take six months to complete, which may be extended given that we are dealing with an asset of cultural interest whose recovery must be very careful.”

In terms of the next phases of the rehabilitation work, municipal sources have explained that “the idea of the local government is to reapply for the 1% Cultural aid from the Ministry”.

For the moment, the call for applications for the subsidy has not been issued, but Mayor Moreno hopes to obtain sufficient investment to continue remodelling the next few metres of this emblematic structure until the refurbishment is completely finished, up to a total length of 163 metres.

But even before that, once the first phase of the work has been completed, “residents and visitors will be able to enjoy this first restored section”.

History of the Embarcadero del Hornillo

The Hornillo jetty was once one of the main wharfs in Spain linking sea transport and the mining industry. Its history began in 1887, when the English Southern Railway Company built the Águilas-Lorca section and requested a concession to build the Hornillo jetty, an infrastructure that was used for the mass extraction of minerals from the Sierra de Bacares, in Almería.

These came to Águilas via the railway and were loaded onto the quay. It began to operate at the beginning of the 20th century, and between August 1903 and April 1936 it handled a traffic of more than eleven million tons of minerals.

For more local news, events and visiting information go to the home page of Águilas Today

Image: Ayuntamiento de Águilas