The President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, announced on Thursday the start of the tender for the expansion of the Inca Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) for a maximum amount of 15,212,929.20 €, including VAT. Francina Armengol visited the facilities accompanied by the councillors for the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, and for Economic Model, Tourism and Employment, Iago Negueruela. The visit was also attended by the town’s mayor, Virgilio Moreno.
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The President stressed the “constant collaboration of the Inca Town Council in many projects that are necessary for this municipality and this region” because “it is from the ability to work together that we get the best results”.
Francina Armengol also recalled that “we said at the beginning of the legislature that we would prioritise investment in the water cycle, and we have kept our word”, given that “we will end the legislature having invested more than 420 million euros in the maintenance, refurbishment and construction of water treatment plants”. The President of the Government also defended the importance of the sustainable tourism tax because “we have an economic model that allows us full employment, but this has negative externalities such as the intensive use of a scarce resource such as water”.
Councillor Mir stressed that “we are once again showing our commitment to the correct management of the water cycle by taking another step towards improving the sanitation and purification system of one of the most important population centres in the archipelago”. In this regard, Mir stressed that “this is the first major work on the facilities in the last 25 years” and that, once the works are completed, “the WWTP will have the capacity to serve twice the population as it does now”. The deadline for submitting bids is 35 calendar days.
Funding for the extension and improvement works comes mainly from the sustainable tourism tax, which will provide 12.6 million euros. The remaining 2.6 million will be provided by the Balearic Water Agency with its own funds. In this regard, Negueruela pointed out that “the sustainable tourism tax is here to stay and is a basic tool for the Balearic Islands”. The councillor defended the fact that the tax “makes it possible to carry out actions to promote much-needed infrastructures such as today’s” and helps “to have a more sustainable destination and to deal with the externalities caused by tourism”.
The mayor, for his part, stresses that “this action is of vital importance to improve the sewage and purification system in the municipality of Inca, as well as to adapt the service to the current reality of our municipality”.
The expansion and improvement project will allow the maximum treatment flow of the WWTP to increase from the current 4,410 m³/day to 10,000 m³/day. Thus, when the work is completed, it will be able to serve a population of 58,333 people, whereas at present the facilities have the capacity to serve a population of 25,725.
The planned works include improvements to the water and mud lines, the construction of three new buildings, the total renovation of the electrical installations and the implementation of automation and control mechanisms. Once awarded, the works will take 18 months to complete.