The president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Don Antonio Morales, said yesterday that the roadworks undertaken by the Maspalomas Tourist Consortium, to create a roundabout at El Veril, comply with current legislation and he downplayed the latest investigation started the Office of the Environment and Urban Planning, following a new complaint from the environmental group Turcón, who recently failed in their attempts to have a court stop work at the site.
Morales, who also currently holds the Presidency of the Consorcio del Sur, said that technicians and the head of that public body, César Muñoz, are currently preparing a report to answer the questions being asked by the Prosecutor’s Office and reiterated that all the actions so far related to the future Siam Park “have been made following the procedures established by law.”
The environmental group has maintained that the Consortium’s work project on the El Veril roundabout increased in cost to the public purse, from €300,000 to €3.1 million, so that it could include the installation of pipe work within the grounds of the water park, from which the tourist attraction would gain benefit, Morales denies the accusations and criticised the Turcón group, the truthfulness of who’s version of events he questions.
Editor’s note;
One curiosity of the current situation is that the environmentalists now seem to find themselves on the opposite side of the table from president Morales, who is well known for his renewable energies focus and environmental project achievements: while at the same time Turcón apparently make strange bedfellows with the current town hall administration who appear to technically stand in the way of the project, and who more usually find themselves most readily standing on the side of big business and less likely to support environmental protesters. Nevertheless, when accusations of impropriety with public funds are made, there is a duty to investigate.
Asked about the discrepancies between the San Bartolomé de Tirajana town hall and the company promoting the project, Grupo Loro Parque, Morales made “an appeal for dialogue and agreement” between both parties. “This work is very important for Gran Canaria as a tourist destination, because it adds quality, and it would be good for the public administration and the private initiative, making the proposal, to reach a framework of understanding so that the problems of Siam Park can be solved” said the president, this week.
Morales (NC) opined the “tremendous irresponsibility” should investment be lost due to such confrontations, but he has said that he does not foresee paralysis of the project as all the existing differences between the PPAV controlled Maspalomas town hall and the company “can be overcome”. After announcing that the island government will not enter into that conflict, he pointed out that “when an archaeological site appeared, and despite the fact that the Cabildo repeated that this finding was not going to paralyse the work of channelling the ravine, social alarm was generated that included a press conference with the Town Council and businessmen “.
“The reality of today,” he added, “is much more serious than that, but we do not want to make a conflict that hinders the solution, the ideal is to reach an agreement between the parties and one better than before.”
Carlos Fernández Seijo, Public Prosecutor for the Environment and Urban Development, has initiated investigative proceedings following a further complaint by Turcón making accusations of up to four possible crimes in the current actions of the Consortium in El Veril.
This saga looks set to continue through the summer…
