Alicante City Council is set to process payments to the business group Vectalia to cover the ongoing operations of the city’s regulated surface parking, commonly known as the ORA, and the vehicle towing and impound service.
The move follows a transitional phase in which the public services have continued operating under a tacit extension without an active contract in place. This has required the municipal administration to utilise extrajudicial credit recognition procedures to settle outstanding balances with the operator while the new formal licensing process moves forward.
The local government recently initiated a major public tender for a comprehensive 19-year concession to manage these services alongside temporary traffic-sign operations. The long-term contract is valued at more than 143 million euro.
Legal challenges have recently slowed down the bidding process. Vectalia Park filed an appeal with the Central Administrative Tribunal for Contractual Resources against the initial tender announcement and its associated specifications, requesting an annulment based on specific procedural points. The administrative body subsequently introduced a cautionary measure that the council’s procurement board has formally acknowledged while the required reports are submitted.
Despite the ongoing legal and bureaucratic reviews, the daily management of the city’s blue and resident parking zones, as well as the municipal tow-truck network, remains fully active under the interim financial arrangements to ensure no disruption to urban mobility.
