State-of-the-art marina comes to Mijas

The province of Málaga has 150km of coastline housing 11 marinas sharing 4,240 berths between them. The EPPA (Empresa Pública de Puertos de Andalucía or Public Company of Andalucian Ports) estimates that there is a deficit of 4,300 berths in Málaga alone, a shortfall of more than 100%, and if anything waiting lists are getting longer. Compared with other major yachting centres in Spain the Costa del Sol is simply ill-equipped, even the petite Balearic island of Mallorca has three times the number of berths – 12,895 across 41 marinas. There is no better time to announce the arrival of Marina Mijas.

With an initial investment of 50 million euros, Marina Mijas will comprise 800-1,000 berths of all sizes up to 100 metres (328 ft) as well as two docks designed to accommodate transatlantic cruisers. In addition there will be two hotels, a commercial area with shops, restaurants, cafés, leisure zones, a congress centre, yacht club and full service dry dock, the only thing that will be missing is residential accommodation – an intentional omission. The new facility will comfortably create up to 1,000 new jobs and the avant-garde design will ensure that it becomes a worldwide reference point.

Spain is renowned for its old-fashioned bureaucracy and ‘mañana syndrome’ so dredging will commence as soon as the authorities are ready but the good news is that plans for the future Marina have already been included in both Andalucía’s POT (Plan de Ordenación Territorial) and the Plan General de Ordenación de Mijas approved back in 2005. Following a presentation to the Spanish National Coastal Authority (COSTAS) in January 2008 which will result in the seal of approval from the Environment Department phase one should be able to get underway. This phase is the port itself and will take about two years to complete whilst the rest of the project such as the hotels and commercial area will start before finishing the first phase.

Residents of the luxurious apartment development Los Cortijos in Mijas will gain a bird’s eye view of the project. The one, two and three bedroom apartments are set within the Costa del Sol’s true ‘golf valley’ with 12 courses within literally minutes of the resort. The properties themselves all boast golf, sea and mountain views with no sub-standard views on offer and are superbly equipped with first class laminate wooden flooring in living rooms and bedrooms, heating and comfort cooling, fully fitted kitchens, disabled-adapted lift access to just two apartments per floor, allocated parking and storage. On-site facilities include a gymnasium, Spa, sauna, three swimming pools and manicured gardens whilst the Calanova Golf Clubhouse is within comfortable walking distance.

Prices start from just 195,000 euros for a one bedroom apartment with 25m² of terracing rising to 440,000 euros for a three bedroom three bathroom duplex penthouse with a mammoth 40m² of terracing.

For further information, visit duchyestates.co.uk.