The POTALA is the Plan de Ordenacion del Territorio del Area de Levante Almeriense (Territorial Planning for the Almerian Levante Area). It includes plans for all infrastructures (transport, water, electricity and gas), urban planning and economic development in the area stretching from Carboneras in the South to San Juan de los Terreros in the North-East and Santa Maria de Nieva and the surrounding mountains in the North-West. The area includes the municipalities of; Antas, Bedar, Carboneras, Cuevas del Almanzora, Garrucha, Huercal-Overa, Los Gallardos, Mojacar, Pulpi, Turre and Vera. The plan affects a population of almost 78 thousand people and the total area included in the plan comes to just over 426 square miles (the same area as Hong Kong) and has 23 miles of beaches.
The plan is now in its final stages after having been approved by a majority vote from the ayuntamientos affected by it with the exceptions of Mojacar which voted against it and Antas which abstained. The reason for their dissension was that both towns wanted more of the land which is currently protected against development to be freed from urban restrictions.
The plan projects an investment in the area over the next ten years of a thousand million euros, seventy per cent of which will come from public funds and the other thirty from private investors.
Transport
The POTLA integrates all of the plans for new roads, road improvements and rail connections for the next ten years. The most important investment in the area will be the AVE high speed train with a station planned in the Vera Playa area. The AVE will cut the journey time from Madrid down from five and a half hours to two and a half hours, making a relaxing weekend at the beach here a definite possibility for residents of the capital.
There are several new roads anticipated with bypasses for Turre, Carboneras, Pulpi and Santa Maria de las Nievas. There is also a new road behind Mojacar from the roundabout by the Cepsa petrol station to the end of Mojacar Playa, another coming directly from the A7 motorway to Garrucha and another connecting the Los Lobos exit on the new Aguilas motorway to the back of Mojacar. Major improvements are also planned for many other roads in the area.
Water, Electricity and Gas
The plan foresees the zones needs for water and energy, with water to come from the Carboneras desalination plant, electricity principally from the Carboneras power station with new power lines and sub-stations planned in strategic areas, and gas from the gas line being laid from Almeria to Algeria.
Urban Planning
The POTLA in theory will regulate the planning confusion that has reigned in the area over the last couple of years, defining the areas which are to be provided with street level infrastructure and made 'urbanisable' land, with large areas specified in Vera, San Juan de los Terreros and Sierra Cabrera. The plan leaves the power for legalising those properties currently illegal or unregulated in the hands of the ayuntamientos, meaning that only those in precarious situations such as in ramblas or near reservoirs will have problems with legalisation. Of the approximately six thousand illegal properties in the area it is estimated that only about a hundred will remain that way.
Economic Development
Perhaps the most far reaching part of the POTLA is the designation of special areas for the production and tourism industries. There are four areas reserved for production industry the largest of which surrounds the intersection of the A7 Almeria-Murcia motorway and the AP-7 Cartagena motorway, there is another slightly smaller one on the intersection between the A7 and the new motorway to Purchena and another between Pulpi and the AP-7 toll motorway. The fourth area is reserved for heavy industry and is behind the Carboneras power station.
The other area which will be the heart of the tourist industry in the Almerian Levante is the Llano Central, an area of over 13,000 acres which is for the development of tourist attractions in the area. The area is in the centre of, and includes land in, the municipalities of Antas, Bedar, Garrucha, Los Gallardos, Mojacar, Turre and Vera, and a project with detailed ideas for its use is being drawn up at a cost of 60,000 euros.
The POTLA is a detailed and exhaustive plan which can be found on the internet and downloaded in zip format from the following link.