Environmental approval for the project to withdraw from Puerto Mayor and restore the Estacio cove

The General Directorate of Quality and Environmental Assessment of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has issued the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project to dismantle the Puerto Mayor facilities and the environmental restoration of Caleta del Estacio (San Javier, Murcia), which will be carried out by the Ministry's General Directorate for the Coast and the Sea.

The long and complex administrative and judicial process to prevent the execution and environmental impact of this project—which sought to occupy a particularly environmentally sensitive area at the entrance to the Estacio channel on the Mediterranean coast of La Manga del Mar Menor—culminated on April 20, 2021, when, at the proposal of MITECO, the Council of Ministers agreed to revert the areas corresponding to Puerto Mayor to the state's maritime-terrestrial public domain.

In 2022, the General Directorate of the Coast and the Sea issued a tender for the drafting of the project for the subsidiary execution of the removal of facilities from Puerto Mayor and dune restoration in La Manga del Mar Menor. This project, which was adapted to the comments received in an initial public information process dated March 12, 2024, was submitted for public information along with the Environmental Impact Study, thus initiating the mandatory ordinary environmental impact assessment.

This intervention is included in line 3 of the Framework of Priority Actions to Recover the Mar Menor (MAPMM), with a total budget of €675.05 million. The EIA will be published shortly in the Official State Gazette.

With this project, the ministry will restore nearly one million square meters (97.72 hectares) of La Manga's coastal area, which has been severely pressured by urban development. This, in addition to being a significant ecosystem improvement, will also restore the maritime and terrestrial environment for public enjoyment.

With the approval of the EIA, MITECO has the strongest legal and environmental guarantees to undertake this project. Once the project has been adapted to the conditions stipulated by the environmental authority, it will be put out to tender for an estimated budget of €23.32 million. Once awarded, the contract will be completed within 18 months.

RECOVERY OF THE SEAFRONT

The dismantling project chosen by MITECO includes the following actions:

• Removal of more than 2,500 meters of sheet piling at sea and on land, as well as various elements present in the Public Maritime-Terrestrial Domain (DPMT), such as advertising signs, fences, and debris.
• Removal of fill located behind the sheet piles (98,302.87 cubic meters -m3- of gravel, boulders of various sizes, and sand) and soil contaminated with heavy metals in three identified areas (44,716.37 m3), which must be managed by an authorized waste manager.
• Rearrangement of the sands obtained from the removal of fills with the consequent configuration of the coastline in those areas.
• Removal from the interior of the Levante breakwater (35,264.32 m3 of soil fill consisting of gravel, pebbles of various sizes, and sand, which will be transported by sea), as well as the abandoned boats within the area.
• Dismantling of the last 200 meters of the South breakwater.
• Conditioning and reinforcement of the remaining section of the breakwater (involving the removal of 46,055.69 m3 of stone and riprap present in the breakwater, the use of 8,884.68 tonnes of 120-240 kg riprap for the filter layer and the reuse of 11,446.51 m3 of selected-size construction riprap as a reinforcement layer).
• Reconditioning of the breakwater located next to the access road to the South Breakwater (removal of debris, repositioning of existing riprap, and reinforcement by reusing existing riprap within the scope of the project).
• Restoration of the Caleta del Estacio dunes (in accordance with the MIITECO “Coastal Dune Restoration Manual”): Conservation of protected species, elimination of invasive species, morphological reconstruction of the dunes, installation of sand traps (wicker rods), and revegetation with native species that have been agreed upon with the General Directorate of Natural Heritage and Climate Action of the Government of the Region of Murcia.
• Installation of wooden walkways over some existing sidewalks to allow access to the beach and pedestrian traffic, as well as a perimeter fence to separate the dune environment from the urban area and prevent access to the dunes.
• Experimental planting of Posidonia oceanica on a 25 m2 plot upon completion of the marine works. The location will be agreed upon with the competent authority of the Region of Murcia. The seedlings will be obtained from seeds and maintained under nursery conditions for a minimum of four months after germination. The restoration density is set at 10-30 seedlings per m2 and they will be fixed to the seabed using various techniques.

Dune restoration in La Manga and La Llana

In total, MITECO will allocate €25.5 million to the environmental restoration of natural areas in the Mediterranean strip parallel to the Mar Menor (Caleta del Estacio and the dune areas of La Llana and La Manga).

Thus, the General Directorate of Coast and Sea has now received the EIA for the La Llana beach development project (San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia), with an estimated budget of €1.17 million and which aims to halt the erosion of 3,000 meters of a dune system of high environmental value.

The restoration of more than 117,000 m2 of dunes spread across fifteen areas of La Manga del Mar Menor is also under administrative review, requiring a planned investment of €1.06 million.