The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Carmen Crespo, together with the Mayor of Tíjola, José Juan Martínez Pérez, visited the works on the Guanila road which are in their final stages and which will be a boost for the municipality, in which the Regional Government of Andalusia has invested almost 600,000 euros in different actions within the framework of the Plan Restaura, Itínere and the Rural Development Group (RDG). This investment can be increased if we add the aid for modernisation and young people, which has exceeded 155,000 euros. “Our commitment to this municipality of Almeria is clear because when works are undertaken in rural areas, the benefits and advantages always multiply and redound to the residents, farmers, job creation and rural tourism.
The intervention on the Guanila road is not the first to be carried out in Tíjola. A modernisation of rural roads has already been carried out with the Plan Restaura, with an investment of 289,000 euros to improve a total of nine rural roads, namely Alcantud, Canalilla, Canalito, Collado, Cortijo Reloj, Margen, Gamitas and Cenete. Now, the modernisation of the rural road in Guanila is being completed, with an investment of almost 244,000 euros to upgrade 2.1 kilometres, with which the residents “are delighted because there was an area that was not a priority within the same but has been included to meet the demand that the municipality had”, as highlighted by the Councillor for Agriculture and Rural Development and continued “it is a key communication route that also helps to revitalise the rural world and municipalities like this one and will be fully completed in February”. Specifically, in Guanila the road surface has been replaced; new drains have been installed to improve water circulation and ditches have been created to provide safety, and breakwaters and retaining walls have been built to increase and guarantee road safety on this road, which has a high volume of road traffic.
For his part, the mayor of Tíjola, José Juan Martínez Pérez, thanked “the councillor for her involvement in rural areas because these roads are necessary to settle the population and to continue working to promote agriculture”. The councillor told those present that “all of us who have known this road know that it was impassable and, without the support of the Regional Government of Andalusia, it would have been unfeasible for the council to undertake the restoration work”.
Crespo added that “the Regional Government of Andalusia wants to make this municipality more dynamic, which is why we are planning to make a new investment of over 450,000 euros” with two fundamental axes, water improvement and rural roads. The councillor announced forthcoming work on the El Collado road, as part of the Rural Itínere Plan, “crucial for the interconnection of the rural territory of this municipality and, therefore, an improvement for all the residents”. And he pointed out that within the policy of water infrastructure improvements that Juanma Moreno’s government is committed to, a subsidy is going to be granted to the San Antonio Irrigation Community for energy efficiency, a decisive point for irrigators to reduce their electricity and water bills, with reductions of around 30%-40%.
Andalusian and Almerian Itínere Plan
As we have been saying, the commitment of Juanma Moreno’s government to municipalism and the rural world is becoming a reality with actions, such as the one in Tíjola, financed 100% by the Andalusian government. “Every road counts because, without them or with them in a deficient situation, the rural territory cannot maintain its activity or prosper,” said the minister. The Andalusian President has committed himself with facts, with a powerful and responsible Regional Government of Andalusia Budget of 88.4M€ for the improvement of roads in Andalusia and 10.5M€ for rural roads in Almeria. Therefore, it will also be the year of rural roads and of continuing to contribute to the agricultural world. The Regional Government of Andalusia, with the Itínere Plan, is investing €130M in 491 roads in 362 Andalusian municipalities. In the province of Almeria, €9.5 million has been invested in the improvement of 37 roads (127 km), belonging to more than 30 municipalities. In 2023, the Rural Itínere Plan will be added, with €42.2M, approximately €5M of which will be for Almería.