Torrevieja City Council, through its Heritage Department, has revived the design project for a new bus station with the start of work to define the overall layout of Enclave 13 of the General Urban Development Plan. The Council is preparing to award the contract for a master plan and a preliminary design that will specify the implementation of the transport infrastructure, associated services, and commercial uses linked to this area, which also includes a reserve for private facilities.
The awarding of the master plan and preliminary design contract will entail an expenditure of 200,000€, which was allocated through the budget amendment approved at the last ordinary plenary session in September. The City Council owns 44,000 square metres of the Enclave 13 area, which covers a surface area of over 73,500 square metres and includes existing buildings such as the service station and the fire station, located next to the CV-905 highway.
At the start of the current municipal term, this project was announced with the expectation of processing and tendering it before 2027. However, the first significant administrative step is now being taken with this tender. An optimistic forecast would place the tendering and construction of the planned infrastructure throughout 2028.
The construction of the bus terminal is a long-standing aspiration of the Torrevieja City Council and a demand of the thousands of users of the service because the current facilities, next to Calle Antonio Machado and the San Esteban Colony, owned by the former Costa Azul in the centre of Torrevieja, offer a very poor service, with complicated accessibility and an image that, daily and especially in summer, calls into question the municipality as a tourist destination.
This action will allow for the preliminary establishment of how the land will be organised and the general guidelines for its future development. The master plan will define the overall layout of Enclave 13, while the preliminary design will outline the characteristics of the building for the bus station, which will subsequently be developed through planning, urban development, and construction instruments. The initiative comes from the Department of Heritage, which will also oversee the work. The chief architect of the Heritage Service has been appointed to handle the processing and prepare the necessary technical documentation to move the project forward.
The City Council considers this location suitable for the station due to its connection with the main road network, according to the public information of the initiative promoted by the Heritage area headed by Domingo Paredes, and due to the need to meet the high demand for intercity transport in Torrevieja.
According to this approach, the planning of the facilities must also take into account the current and future needs of the city, the improvement of the urban image, and the incorporation of services for citizens. The municipal documentation states that the development of the area should feature an architectural proposal of high aesthetic and conceptual quality and maintain a coherent overall layout.
The municipal project is not limited to simply restoring the future bus station. The plan will also incorporate the services and commercial uses associated with these facilities, which are intended to be operated under a concession agreement so that the overall financing does not fall solely on the municipal coffers. It will also address the development of the public land within the area. Site 13 is located between Partial Plan 10 La Torreta and the CV-905 highway and is designated for public facilities. Currently, the site is an open area.
In addition to the bus terminal, with its commercial space, workshop, and garages for the city buses, the City Council drew up an initial draft in 2024 outlining the uses of the space. This included a headquarters for the Local Civil Protection Group, a large parking area, and even a reserve for a hypothetical restoration of the rail connection to Torrevieja. However, this restoration is unlikely in the short and medium term and would also present a complex technical challenge in an area already very close to the city centre. The draft also designated various uses for private facilities for the remainder of the plot.
The plot is located next to the flamingo roundabout and the Carrefour and Ozone shopping area and is used, with municipal authorisation, for various activities, primarily circuses. Before any actual project has even begun, the proposal has already entailed a multi-million euro investment: a decade ago, the City Council had to expropriate a significant portion of the land from its private owners for over seven million euros. It was during the 2000 revision of the General Urban Development Plan, spearheaded by Pedro Hernández Mateo, that the land status, previously owned by a Torrevieja family, was changed from non-developable to public facility, even though it was not yet municipally owned. In 2008, an amendment to the General Urban Development Plan incorporated private facility use into the site, encompassing 17,000 square metres.
The City Council is obligated to cede a portion of the plot to the company Avanza so that it can construct its new bus depot and workshops, as stipulated in the terms and conditions for the new service. Currently, the company operates a parking facility and gas station on Delfina Viudes Avenue, which causes daily traffic problems and disruptions in residential areas, particularly at the beginning and end of the bus service, with up to 30 buses congregating there.
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