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Date Published: 21/11/2024

Orihuela Costa beach bars to be put out to tender again

The chiringuitos at Punta Prima, Cala Mosca and Cala Estaca have remained closed for two summers

Hold onto your hats for a (not so) shocking revelation: the contracts to open three of Orihuela Costa’s beach bars will have to go out to tender, yet again, before they’re allowed to serve a single beer or tapa.

The chiringuitos at Punta Prima, Cala Mosca and Cala Estaca have had the shutters down for two summers already and during the high season of 2024, they were the only beach bars in Orihuela Costa not up and running.

And it looks like the saga will drag on a bit longer, as the local government has confirmed that the documentation submitted by the last people interested in taking over the beach bars was never approved. So it’s back to the drawing board.

The issues date back to the previous legislature, which decided in January 2023 to cancel the exclusive contract on the running of all Orihuela Costa’s beach bars and start a new tender. The idea was that the chiringuitos would be grouped according to profitability to increase competitiveness. Aside from the bars, this included the sun loungers and umbrellas, beach toilets and water sports facilities.

But the tender wasn’t actually published until 11 months later, in November 2023, meaning that all of the beach bars remained shut that summer.

Fast forward to the summer of 2024 and new contracts had been signed for most of the chiringuitos, with the exception of Lot 1, which consists of Cala Mosca, Cala Estaca and Punta Prima, one of the most lucrative of all. Despite the fact that four people bid on the lot, nobody made the cut.

Strangely, the last bidder to be called hasn’t actually been informed by Orihuela City Council that he’s been excluded from the process, even though the local government team has confirmed that the process will now start all over again.

The absence of beach bars, not to mention sun beds and the other facilities, has been a major blow to the popular holiday destinations of Punta Prima and Playa Flamenca. In the absence of these services, many beachgoers have travelled to the nearby shores of Cabo Roig and La Zenia instead, drawing much-needed business away from local bars, restaurants and shops.

In other news: British family held at gunpoint in case of mistaken identity in Orihuela Costa

Image: Archive

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