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The mayor of Águilas, Mari Carmen Moreno, has announced that the City Council is going to apply for a subsidy of three million euros for the renovation of public buildings offered by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. The special initiative is aimed at revitalising sites of historical heritage to attract more tourists.

 

Ms Moreno explained that the funds will be used to complete the refurbishment of the Embarcadero del Hornillo, or the Hornillo jetty, which has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (‘Bien de Interés Cultural’ or BIC).

 

A previous investment of one million euros last July was used to renovate the first 54 metres of the jetty, where boards were replaced and street lighting and furniture were installed.

 

The latest works are due to be completed this week, thanks to the 1.5% cultural subsidy granted to Águilas by the Spanish government. The central administration contributed 750,000 euros and the City Council came up with the remaining 250,000 which was used to repair the most damaged section of the jetty.

 

History of the Embarcadero del Hornillo

 

The Hornillo jetty was once one of the main wharfs in Spain linking sea transport and the mining industry. Its history began in 1887, when the English Southern Railway Company built the Águilas-Lorca section and requested a concession to build the Hornillo jetty, an infrastructure that was used for the mass extraction of minerals from the Sierra de Bacares, in Almería.

These came to Águilas via the railway and were loaded onto the quay. It began to operate at the beginning of the 20th century, and between August 1903 and April 1936 it handled a traffic of more than 11 million tonnes of minerals.

 

 

Image: Ayuntamiento de Aguilas