Víctor Costa Mazón, the Director General of Urban Planning, Projects, Infrastructure, and Basic Services, has bid farewell to the civil servants in his department and declared his intention to resign from his position at Torrevieja City Council. He is anticipated to commence his responsibilities as the Deputy Director of Urban Planning for the city of Murcia at the beginning of May. The technician’s intention to resign from his current position at Torrevieja City Council, which he freely assigns as a position of trust held by Mayor Eduardo Dolón, has been acknowledged by sources from the People’s Party government team. However, this decision has not been “100%” confirmed.
The architect was employed by the mayor at the commencement of his 2019-2023 term as one of the critical positions in the new organisational structure of general directors, which is safeguarded by the “Large Municipalities Law.” Additionally, these directors were mandated to be high-ranking officials. The gross annual remuneration for one of these positions exceeds €100,000.
He has been able to progress with certain pending projects without encountering unfavourable technical reports from department heads, as a result of a customised organisational chart. Additionally, the unique position of “technical civil servant and position of trust” has been assigned responsibility for certain decisions that are more political than technical.
Costa had previously held a variety of roles in the Department of Urban Planning and Municipal Intervention at Torrevieja City Council before assuming the role of general manager. In this capacity, he has been a critical figure for Eduardo Dolón. He has been primarily responsible for the establishment of the framework agreement for the execution of works and projects, which should have expedited many of the contract awards, and for attempting to resolve some of the outstanding issues in the renewal of the City Council’s public service contracts within these years. In order to concentrate on particular management areas, Dolón was obliged to relinquish some of his responsibilities as general manager.
Nevertheless, his administration has been unevenly balanced. The municipal government has eventually completed several of the projects that were repeatedly announced, including the remodelling of the Sports Palace, the new La Mata sports centre, the La Mata pedestrian walkway, La Siesta Park, and certain port area projects. The most significant and expensive initiatives, including the redevelopment of Paseo de la Libertad, are still ongoing.
After more than four years of processing, the new urban transport service in Torrevieja, which has been operating without a contract and with monthly maintenance reports since 2012, remains pending. The project to renovate the Eras de la Sal and its environs, which are presently in a state of disrepair, is still pending.
Dolón is not in a favourable position as a result of the Director General of Urban Planning’s decision. The Urban Planning position, in contrast to other vacancies that may arise within the general directors’ organisation, cannot remain vacant for an extended period of time due to the pending and stalled projects. These projects include the redevelopment of the Salt Eras and its surroundings, which includes the construction of the Sea and Salt Museum, the rehabilitation of the Ice Factory as a tourist office, and the establishment of a walkway through the old Era Alta.
The project’s budget, which was €8 million when it was first announced in February 2021, has since increased to €31 million (including VAT). The municipality’s primary industrial heritage example, which is safeguarded by the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), is currently in a state of disrepair. This contributes to its undeniable historical value as an 18th-century architectural heritage, which also originates from the town of Torrevieja. It is imperative that the issue be resolved as soon as possible.
Additionally, the redevelopment of La Libertad Promenade and the access to the new leisure area are still undecided. The contracts for this endeavour only encompass a portion of the work, but not the most critical components. In the interim, in order to facilitate the renovation of the Levante Dike Promenade, other municipal departments were required to intervene in order to unblock the project and withdraw the contract from the framework agreement that Costa had established in order to expedite the process.
At times, Costa’s administration has been characterised by controversy, despite the fact that it is designated by the primary municipal public works and services providers as Eduardo Dolón’s right-hand man and possesses substantial decision-making power.
For instance, when he included an individual bid evaluation report in the award of the multi-million-dollar rubbish collection contract, the largest in Torrevieja’s history, without the contracting committee’s explicit request and concurrently with the report prepared by the contract’s lead technician. The committee solely requested that he examine certain arithmetic calculations in the main report, in conjunction with three other technicians. Nevertheless, he draughted his own, in which he disqualified the company that had been evaluated first and ultimately secured the contract.
Despite the fact that the contracting committee itself reported this irregularity in writing, he was able to maintain Dolón’s trust. Costa resigned from his position during the awarding of the refuse contract, which was worth €400 million over a 25-year period. However, he promptly reversed his decision and returned to his position one month later.
Some argue that this would not be the first time he has altered his mind, and he may do so again. This is due to the aforementioned background. However, at the moment, there are already polls being conducted to determine who will succeed him at the primary headquarters of City Hall, located in Plaza de la Constitución. Some individuals suggest that authorities are already present in the office.
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