ARCHIVED - Alicante ghost urbanisation abandoned 14 years ago could be resurrected

The original plans were for 1,800 homes on a 700m2 (now deserted) plot in San Miguel de Salinas in the Vega Baja area of Alicante province

A 'ghost' urbanisation in San Miguel de Salinas, Alicante, which was abandoned 14 years ago, could be resurrected if the Town Hall gives developer Bogey Mediterráneo the green light.

The firm has asked the local council to take control of the SUS-A Los Invernaderos near the town centre, which was initially earmarked for 1,800 homes.

The original developer went bust in 2008 and the project was shelved, leaving behind 700m2 of deserted avenues and streets, green areas and facilities without maintenance, completely abandoned and a magnet for vandals.

Of the 1,800 homes in four-storey blocks planned, only four buildings have been erected with Bogey Mediterráneo purchasing 51% of the site in September for 4.3 million euros, around half its value.

Should the council approve the new developer's plans, rebooting the project won't be easy. First of all, the company must provide guarantees that it can carry out the necessary works; a weighty guarantee that will cost millions.

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At least 1.5 million euros will be needed to connect the area to the electricity grid that will require the construction of a power line from the Iberdrola substation in La Marquesa to the SUS-A site.

And then there are legal issues. The 'provisional' liquidation of the urbanisation debts of the owners, which date back to 2008, is still being carried out.

The 'ghost' site is located in an area where building land is scarce and there's a high demand for first homes, not just tourist apartments, as an extended urban area for the likes of Torrevieja and Orihuela.

The developers who want to resuscitate the plans are linked to the real estate companies Santamar de la Vega and Costa Santamar, promoters of urban projects in Torrevieja such as the 'skyscrapers' of Los Náufragos, still in planning.

The firm has numerous tourist residential developments already underway and recently completed in Torre del Pilar de la Horadada and Orihuela Costa. It also built the only four completed blocks on the SUS-A site.

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Image: Ayuntamiento de San Miguel de Salinas