ARCHIVED - Start of Paramount Park construction delayed until summer

Alhama de Murcia council have still not been able to grant the necessary licences

Following its presentation as the star attraction of the Region of Murcia at the Fitur tourism fair in Madrid last week, it’s been revealed today that there is likely to be a delay of several months before works begin on the Paramount Theme park in Alhama de Murcia.

Regional Spanish paper La Verdad reported earlier in the week that Jesús Samper is planning a presentation of the project to interested investors in London to discuss the details of the park and the options it offers. According to the report, Sr Samper is negotiating with North-American Investment Corporation, Apollo to act as financial agent for the park, although there is still no firm agreement.

Sr Samper is in discussions with a number of parties, and is reported as saying that there has been a notable improvement in the attitude of international funds in Spanish properties now that the Spanish economy is starting to show signs of recovery.

Invest in Spain have apparently informed the promotor of the park that there has been interest in the project from Singapor and Hong Kong, although Sr Samper says there has been no time to explore these options further since the initial contacts.

The paper says that Sr Samper hopes to have financing agreements sealed by June in order to obtain 240 million euros, two thirds of the amount now needed for the total project, the remainder coming from the sale of building land for hotels and the commercial zone within the Lifestyle centre area of the park. It also reports that progress is further advanced with regards to obtaining financing from investors than in the sale of the land to potential purchasers, Ernst and Young having been contracted to prepare the financial documentation necessary in order to sell the park plots.

On Friday the paper reported that construction work could not now begin until later in the year, due to the failure to complete various administrative procedures within the council of Alhama de Murcia.
The councillor for urbanism, Ángel Cánovas, confirmed that Premursa was still in the negotiations phase with the owner of two of the plots of land which lie within the area allocated for construction of the Lifestyle centre, for which reason it would be impossible for the council to prepare the project distributing the plots for resale until this was concluded.

He also confirmed that the evaluation of the environmental impact plan had not been returned to the town hall, although this was a mere formality and the council were expecting to receive it shortly.  Until this essential document arrived, it would be impossible for the council to grant the formal licences. In the light of these delays, he expected the licence to be granted nearer to the summer.

The paper leads with the headline “ Initiation of Paramount construction delayed until the summer.”

Full history of the Paramount Park project in the Alhama de Murcia town section, ( accessed via the bottom of every page) under the heading of Paramount Park or by using the search boxes at the top of every page.