The Council of Territorial Policy, Sustainability and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands is to take responsibility for carrying out the environmental impact assessment report required for the Siam Park water park project, that German tourism entrepreneurs, the Kiessling family, plan to build on the land located in the El Veril ravine, in San Bartolomé de Tirajana on the south of Gran Canaria .
The Official Bulletin of the Canary Islands (BOC) yesterday made public the agreement between the council and the town hall of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in which it has been established that the Government will carry out these environmental reports for the urbanization project at El Veril. This agreement was approved a few months ago unanimously by the municipal plenary session and is aimed at continuing the administrative process necessary to finally obtain the license to build the water park.
The Territorial Policy team will prepare the report on the basis that folloing the entry into force of the Canary Islands Land Law back in September 2017 “the Municipal Council has not created the corresponding environmental body, because it lacks the personal, material and economic resources with which it would be necessary to provide for the aforementioned body, and in another case, of the qualified personnel to assign it to these functions that the municipal environmental body will have to provide,” as established by the BOC.
In a statement issued by the Kiessling’s Loro Parque Group a week ago, the company expressed its desire to obtain permits before the elections and with the objective of “initiating the works immediately.” The authorisation requested by the company has been delayed for more than a year; a delay that the Town Council justified at the time despite the fact that the promoter of the project “did not understand” that new ordinance meant they had to comply with a compulsory cession to the municipality of 10% of the land, or its monetarization. Loro Parque, having successful overcome years of other obstacles was not inclined to suddenly have to give up extra money or land, and insisted that at all times it has fulfilled the urbanistic obligations included in the Modernization Plan of El Veril.
The future Siam Park aquatic park of Gran Canaria will boast among its attractions the largest “artificial tree in the world”, measuring 47 meters high, through which different slides will run between its branches, according to vice president of the group Loro Parque, Christoph Kiessling, who also explained that the facilities will offer a river for snorkeling, an attraction that will be unique in Europe. The project devised by Loro Parque includes a one kilometre long park measuring 140 metres wide.
The Canary Guide
