Town Hall announces a budget of €1.25 million for a 300-metre, 750 m² section, compared with €1.1 million for the first phase, which covered 1,060 metres.
Manilva Town Hall has announced the start of the procedure to carry out the second phase of the pedestrian path between Manilva and Sabinillas, a project drawn up by the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental (the association of municipalities of the western Costa del Sol).
According to information released by the Town Hall, the new section will run from La Bodeguita to the so-called «curva de Riscal», with a length of 300 linear metres and a surface area of 750 square metres.
The budget for this second phase stands at €1,258,467.42. The procedure is still at an early stage and, according to the Town Hall, will begin with the boundary demarcation (deslinde) agreements, before the works are put out to tender.
According to statements by mayor Mario Jimenez to Cadena Ser Costa del Sol, the cost of the works will be met entirely from the Town Hall’s own funds, and they are expected to begin in mid-January 2027 and last around 6 months.
€1,677 per square metre
The figures allow this project to be compared with the first phase of the path, which has already been built.
That first phase has a length of 1,060 linear metres and a width of around 3 metres, so the theoretical surface area of the path was approximately 3,180 m². The budget announced at the time was €1,101,100.
On that basis, the resulting cost of the first phase was approximately €346.26 per square metre.
The second phase, with 750 m² and a budget of €1,258,467.42, works out at approximately €1,677.96 per square metre.
In other words, the cost per square metre of the second phase is approximately 4.85 times higher than that of the first, a difference of close to 385%.
| First phase | Second phase | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 1,060 m | 300 m |
| Surface area | ≈ 3,180 m² | 750 m² |
| Budget | €1,101,100 | €1,258,467.42 |
| Cost per m² | €346.26 | €1,677.96 |
| Cost per linear metre | ≈ €1,039 | ≈ €4,195 |
A much shorter section with a much higher budget
Another figure that helps put the numbers in context is the relationship between length and budget.
The first phase covered 1,060 metres of route with a budget of €1,101,100. The second covers 300 metres, less than a third of the length of that first project, but starts from a budget of €1,258,467.42, that is, €157,367.42 more.
As a result, the calculated cost per linear metre rises from approximately €1,039 in the first phase to around €4,195 in the second.
The figures therefore show a significant difference between the two phases. However, the cost per square metre or per linear metre does not on its own explain the reasons for that difference, as each section may include different construction solutions and complementary works.
Factors such as the terrain, earthworks, retaining structures, drainage, affected services, lighting, protection from the road, access to plots or the condition of the land may have a significant impact on the final budget.
The project continues work begun in 2023
The first phase was presented in March 2023 as the start of the pedestrian link between Manilva and Sabinillas. At the time, it was announced as a project 1,060 metres in length, running along the eastern side of the road and representing roughly half of the planned route.
The project was initially divided into several phases. The first covered the section between the Sabinillas roundabout and the junction at Manilva Green, while the second was to continue from that point towards the town centre of Manilva.
The Town Hall has now announced the start of the administrative procedure for this second phase, which must still go through the boundary demarcation agreements and then the tendering process before work begins.
Therefore, the €1,258,467.42 announced is, for the moment, the budget foreseen for the project, and not a final award cost, which will depend on the contracting procedure.
Comparing the figures for the two phases gives one objective finding: the first phase cost approximately €346 per square metre, while the budget for the second comes to approximately €1,678 per square metre.
