Much has rained since ‘The Refrescos’ sing that of “There is no beach” in 1989. It is true that communities such as Madrid or Castilla-La Mancha have several “beaches” in which they can cool off if the parks close in the middle of heat wave, but by large, beautiful and refreshing that are those gaps, it seems that more water is needed. And, at a time when we are running out of beaches throughout the planet, Guadalajara has decided that it will open the largest interior beach in Europe.
Alovera Beach. Alovera is a single town located in the Guadalajara countryside that has a population of about 13,500 inhabitants and will soon add to its tourist attractions the largest artificial beach in Europe. At least, they say those responsible for the project, the company Crystal Lagoons that has seen how the municipal plenary unanimously approved a transfer agreement for 40 years of land very close to the important Mahou beer factory on the outskirts of the municipality.
The plot has about 105,000 square meters and the works are expected to begin at the end of this year to open their “doors” in spring of 2027. It is estimated that about 20 million euros will be invested and about 140 direct jobs will be created. It is a project that began to take place in 2017, but that after the resource of environmental environment and reactivation after the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen green light scarce.
The “Beach”. Within those more than ten hectares, the Chilean multinational Crystal Lagoons, which has already built “beaches” of this type in other countries, wants to create facilities that will consist of:
- An artificial lagoon of about 20,000 square meters with differentiated areas for bathroom and navigation.
- A white sand beach of 16,000 square meters.
- Complementary facilities such as a ‘club’ Ibizan style, aquatic attractions, sports activities and restoration.
- Parking with 1,000 places.
In addition to private investment, the company will pay a fee of ten million euros throughout the 40 years of granting the land to the City Council.
Crystal Lagoons technology. If we go around the company’s website, this “Lagoons” technology is mentioned several times. They mention that it is something “patented and ecological” and what they detail is that their methodology is sustainable and profitable:
- It uses 100 times less chemical than a conventional pool (thanks to a “disinfection pulses” system), and 30 times less water than a golf course.
- It requires only 2% of the energy of traditional filtration systems by using pulses to group the largest particles in an area of the lagoon, collecting them all at once.
- Minimum water consumption because it works with a closed circuit that is replenished only when there is evaporation.
They also claim that the cost of maintenance and construction is “very low, even lower than those of a park of the same size” and have a technology to capture rainwater and thus replenish the pools and everything is monitored to keep the parameters at the levels they consider optimal.
The land where the beach will be built
Criticism. However, the project has generated controversies since its announcement in 2017, the environmental impact being the trigger. Ecologists in Action criticized the project by stating that it was a “nonsense and a waste of drinking water” to build something like that in a dry area that needs tank trucks in summer to be able to satisfy the needs of the neighbors.
The estimate is that it will consume more than 30 million liters of drinking water every year and that, to be viable, you will need water from the tributaries of the Tagus. Political irregularities have also been expressed when carrying out the agreement.
Look at 2027. Despite the voices against, Alovera Beach will begin to lift in the short term and the residents of the municipality will be able to access this artificial beach in the center of the Peninsula that will have direct connection with the A-2 and, therefore, with Madrid and all potential clients.
As the multinational assures, Alovera’s will be the largest artificial lagoon of crystalline water in Europe, but it will not be the only one. In Spain they built the Alcazaba Lagoon in Malaga and Santa Rosalía in Murcia, in addition to having their eyes on Seville. There is also interest in expanding in Romania, France, Italy or Poland, thus adding these projects to those of the United States District One of Dubai.
So, in the end, Madrid will have close -Otra- beach. Wow, go.
In WorldOfSoftware | Half the Canary Islands created an artificial beach to attract tourism. Without knowing it, he set up a sanctuary for angel sharks
