A total of 700 apartments in Lorca, of the more than 1,150 demolished, are being rebuilt 27 months after the earthquake that devastated the city, according to sources from the regional government press.

The Minister of Public Works and Planning, Antonio Sevilla, visited last Monday several buildings in the Barrio de la Viña, one of the most affected by the earthquakes of 2011 in Lorca, where he stressed the good performance of the housing reconstruction works.

"This boost in the recovery process of lost housing stock is encouraging and demonstrates the courage of a society able to recover their city urbanistically in a record time," he said.
Sevilla praised the cooperation of the City with the neighbours that has allowed in just over two years that all the buildings completed the necessary administrative arrangements for the rebuilding.

The counselor of Public Works stated that one of the main objectives of the actions of the Department is to "exploit the unique opportunity offered by the urban regeneration in neighborhoods for the city to position itself as a leader, following the criteria of the European historical Centre and environmental sustainability recovery ".

In this regard, he added that "we intend to facilitate the economic, commercial development and mobility, creating structures that ensure comprehensive accessibility and regain the overall image of the city, head of the region."

The Cabinet has already approved the contract for the project design and implementation of urban regeneration of neighborhoods of La Viña, Alfonso X and San Jose. He will also acts in the neighborhoods of San Fernando, San Pedro, San Diego, and the accessibility of the Castle.

In total will be allocated around EUR 53 million for the completion of this large set of urban development, to be undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works and Planning in the next three years. The next milestone in this proceeding will be the award of the works in La Viñaamount in the adjudicated totals 8,951,793 Euros. The adjudicated contracts include as a special condition in social development for the promotion of employment, the requirement that the contractor incorporates, at a minimum, about 25 percent of people less than 30.

The works involving: the renewal in urban infrastructure, the release of public space, and the pedestrianization of roads. In addition, also include equipment for culture and leisure activities and energizers encourage social activity.

Sevilla also referred to 6,874 cases of aid already granted to households through the Joint Committee, of which 4,869 were for repairs for an amount of 31.3 million Euros, and 659 for reconstruction, for a total amount of 18 million.

Source: Diario Murcia