Portal de Murcia

www.portaldemurcia.com

• Home
• Business
• Hotels
• Restaurants
• News
• Advertisement

José Ballesta, Miriam Guardiola and Pedro Saura sign the protocol of collaboration between the City Council, Community and State, to return to Murcia this public space of 30,000 m2.

The Secretary of State for Infrastructure will be responsible for the tender of the corresponding project tender.

José Ballesta: "This November will begin Phase Zero, with the entry of archaeologists and students of the University of Murcia and the first guided tours of Murcia to the site."

The mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Miriam Guardiola, and the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Housing, Pedro Saura, today signed the protocol of collaboration between the three administrations (City Council, Community and State) , to boost the recovery of the San Esteban deposit.

"The recovery of the San Esteban deposit, which was born as a city project, has been transformed with the signing of this protocol not only in a regional project but also in a State project," said José Ballesta, who expressed his gratitude. to the Government of the Region of Murcia, with the direct involvement of its president, Fernando López Miras, and the Government of Spain and the Secretary of State for Infrastructure. "

Pedro Saura pledged that the Ministry of Development will contest the drafting of the project in the coming months.

An investment of approximately 17 million euros is planned, of which the Ministry of Public Works will finance 40%, while the City Council and the Community will contribute the remaining 60% in equal shares.

"The entry of the General State Administration into this project will allow the contest for the recovery of San Esteban to have a national character and be open not only to national but also international teams, which is an important qualitative leap", underlined José Ballesta , who reported that "throughout this next month of November Phase Zero will begin, with the entry of archaeologists and students of the University of Murcia and the first guided tours of Murcia to the site."

"This project is one of the most important in the municipality of Murcia, which seeks to return to Murcia more than 30,000 m2 of public space, and has three endorsements: the social, legal and scientific endorsement," said the alderman.

San Esteban, step by step

"From the City of Murcia, aware of the importance of preserving this legacy to future generations, and betting on the historical heritage as a social value, we assume the responsibility of recovering San Esteban, as well as its environment, to turn it into a cultural, historical and unique tourist attraction, "said José Ballesta, who added that" for this, we have had to go step by step, from the technical rigor, transparency and counting on the endorsement of specialists and neighbors, which has required time and effort, but it guarantees us a firm social and scientific support in the intervention ".

In October 2015 the Plenary approved 900,000 euros to start the first works in San Esteban.

In October 2016, the bidding conditions for the Master Plan were approved, from a multidisciplinary point of view, to carry out the recovery of the deposit and the San Esteban garden.

In July 2016, the Protocol of collaboration between the City of Murcia and the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia was signed, which defined the interest of both Administrations in the project, in its determinations and in the joint financing thereof. .

The Master Plan was awarded in February 2017. In total, 6,500 hours of work were invested resulting in a complete inventory that includes each of the elements of the environment and adjacent areas.

The execution of the integral project of recovery of San Esteban, that includes the archaeological zone, the Palace and the jesuítica church of the XVIth century, will be articulated according to the lines of the Master Plan.

In parallel, the City Council signed three collaboration agreements with the most representative associations and institutes in the field of recovery of cultural heritage, such as Hispania Nostra, Santa María La Real Foundation and the Institute of Spanish Cultural Heritage (IPCE), which assumed the condition of External Observers.

In March 2017, the San Esteban perimeter works started, with the removal of opaque screens that prevented the visualization of the site.

A perimeter sidewalk was built and the surroundings lit up.

In addition, continuous care and cleaning work was carried out on the site, which included the maintenance and in situ conservation of the frame structure of the La Arrixaca suburb and the renovation of the geotextile (the fabric that protects the remains from the external elements).

In July 2017, the City Council approved the Progress of the Master Plan for San Esteban and the Special Plan for the Archeological Zone.

After the completion of exhaustive periods of public information and consultations with Institutions of very different nature (more than 100), on February 2, 2018, the document of 'Initial Proposal of the Master Plan' was approved, being favorably informed by the General Directorate of Culture, COAMU and other institutions.

Finally, the Master Plan was finally approved by agreement of the Governing Board dated June 15, 2018.

On July 3 the mayor Ballesta and the rector of the UMU, José Luján, signed the agreement of Phase 0 of San Esteban, which will involve opening to visitors and archaeologists to the site of San Esteban, before the end of this 2018. Murcia will have the opportunity to make guided visits while the field works are done and to explore this unique network in Europe.

The next and final step is to start the drafting of the project of material execution of the works that allow the archaeological consolidation and the recovery of the San Esteban garden as a public space.

To this end, the collaboration protocol between the City Council and the CARM is signed today, with the participation of the national Administration, through the State Department of Infrastructures, which will be responsible for the tender of the corresponding project contest, and the three Administrations deal with the joint and integral financing of the works.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia