The incredible new £286m extension of Gibraltar that's caused outrage among Spaniards
A land reclamation project on Gibraltar's eastern flank to build hotels and houses has been met with howls of complaints from Spain over ecological issues.
Work is continuing on the land reclamation project on Gibraltar’s eastern flank, in which some 61,711 metric tons of stone and rubble have been tipped into the sea to create the foundations of a new 1.7-square-mile marina development.
Work began on reclaiming the land for the Eastside Project at the start of August and the Gibraltar Port Authority recently announced it would continue into September, The Olive Press reported.
The vast new project, located between the Hassan Centenary Terrace towers to the north and Eastern beach to the south, will boast a marine with space for 600 moorings, a hotel, around 1,300 residential homes, 100 of which affordable, and a business park with thousands of parking spaces. It is scheduled for completion in 2026.
The Eastside project is the latest manifestation of Gibraltar’s fast-paced growth, which is forecast to contribute nearly £2.5 billion towards the territory’s GDP.
The project is being undertaken by TNG Global, a Gibraltar-based international real estate developer, which paid £86.8 billion to win the contract.
It is owned by Vietnamese investor Tuan Tran and has backing from the Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank.
However, the project has been met with extensive complaints from across the border in Spain, with environmentalists criticising the fact that the project is being carried out in the Eastern Strait Special Conservation Zone (ZEC), an ecological zone that is home to protected species.
It directly threatens a type of limpet, the patela ferruginia, which has the same protection as the Iberian lynx that is only known to grow in the area.
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There are also concerns that the creation of a breakwater on Gibraltar’s east side could have knock-on effects down the Spanish coastline, causing a loss of sand on the beaches of La Linea and San Roque and potentially affecting fishing and tourism.
Institutionalists have also objected to the development on the grounds that it is against international law. Various international law experts have urged the Spanish government to not “waste a unique moment” to try to paralyse the project as part of a “negotiating weapon” in the post-Brexit talks with Gibraltar and the UK.
Nationalists are also outraged over the fact that it is a violation of Spanish sovereign territorial waters, as they believe all the waters around Gibraltar are theirs. The Spanish navy sent a warship to enter British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and pass by the land reclamation project on August 6 only days after work commenced.
The Algeciras mayor, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, complained of “harassment” that Gibraltar has carried out in “our waters against patrol boats of the Civil Guard and the Navy”.
However, despite the complaints and objections, so far no concrete steps have been taken that could bring the development to a halt.
