The awarding of the new street cleaning and waste collection contract in Benidorm remains unresolved almost five months after the opening of the bids submitted by the participating companies. The situation has been denounced by the PSOE, prompting a response from the governing PP team regarding a contract considered one of the most important for the City Council, valued at around 250 million euro, which will cover a period of ten years plus a one-year transition period.
The Socialist Municipal Group has denounced the paralysis of the procedure and demanded explanations as to why there has been no progress since the end of January, when the bids were opened. Councillor Antonio Charco criticised the local government’s management and pointed out that the service is provided under a concession that expired more than seven years ago, a situation which, in his opinion, has contributed to maintaining an obsolete and insufficient cleaning model for the city’s needs.
The Socialists maintain that the delay in awarding the contract has prevented the modernisation of the service and believe that this situation is affecting the cleanliness of the neighbourhoods. Furthermore, they have demanded greater transparency regarding the handling of the bidding process and have asked the local government to expedite the process so that the new contract can be implemented as soon as possible.
The PSOE also wanted to highlight the work of the current concessionaire’s staff, assuring that the service is maintained thanks to the efforts of the workers despite having, according to them, outdated technical resources and machinery.
The local government’s response was swift. The Councillor for Procurement, Aida García Mayor, defended the procedure, stating that it is following its administrative course, and explained that it is a highly complex case currently in the technical evaluation phase after the opening of the envelope containing the service proposals from the three bidding companies.
As the councillor explained, the submitted documentation must be analysed by various municipal technicians, both regarding the logistics base and the services offered. This requires the issuance of several reports before the process can continue. Once this work is completed, a new contracting committee will be convened to open the financial bids and subsequently prepare the proposed award.
García Mayor insisted that it is the technical staff who prepare the reports and proposals within the established procedure, maintaining that the local government simply respects their work without interfering in the evaluation of the bids. She also asked the Socialist group to stop pressuring and interfering in the contracting processes and demanded respect for the municipal employees involved.
The councillor also questioned the Socialist Party’s criticisms of the city’s cleanliness, expressing surprise at their explicit praise for the concessionary workers while the party routinely circulates images and videos denouncing the dirtiness of the streets. Finally, she accused the opposition of damaging Benidorm’s image and that of public employees in order to gain political advantage.
