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Marbella’s position on the world stage will be further strengthened with the creation of the ambitious €400 million Port Al-Thani project. Here at Aqua Estates we’ve been following this story with interest since the town hall announced plans for the expansion of Marbella’s fishing port. That’s because the realisation of this project will do more than provide yacht docking for millionaires; it will breathe new life into Marbella, helping to ensure a bright future and shore up the value of Marbella property.
The Qatari Sheik and owner of Málaga Football Club Abdullah Ben Nasser Al-Thani has invested €400 million in the regeneration of La Bajadilla fishing port, located at the northeastern entrance to Marbella, with work thought to be commencing early next year. Upon completion in 2015, the new port will have more than doubled in capacity, featuring a massive circular wall, exterior dyke and 200 metre quay with capacity for cruise liners as well as superyachts. The marina will boast a luxury five-star hotel and a string of upmarket bars, restaurants, shops and supermarkets. It is estimated that the port will generate 1,500 jobs directly related to the port with an additional 3,000 indirect positions. This is the largest urban project Marbella has seen in its 60 year history and hopes are high for the effect it will have on Marbella property and indeed real estate all along the coast.
Marbella town hall has a 3% stake in the Port Al-Thani project and mayor Ángeles Muñoz has described it as “an emblematic work that will lay the foundations for a new city model and act as an engine of economic development for the entire coast”. Developers Nasir Bin Abdullah & Sons Consortium believe that this will be “the most important marina anywhere on the Mediterranean Coast”. Whether it lives up to these ambitious predictions remains to be seen, but at a time when many other European towns and cities are suffering under austerity measures, Marbella is looking forward to a future of regeneration and expansion, which can only be good news for owners of Marbella property.
