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Date Published: 22/11/2024

Migrant reception centre soon to open on the Costa Blanca

The Spanish government has chosen Torrevieja as the site for the new migrant facilities

Torrevieja has been chosen by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration to house a new reception centre for migrants in the province of Alicante. The new facilities will be located in the current headquarters of the Social Security Treasury on Calle Urbano Arregui in the Acequión neighbourhood.

The Spanish government has outlined detailed plans for the project, which include repurposing the modern Social Security building which was completed in 2011. The site spans 13,453 square metres, with a built-up area of 10,055 square metres.

The facility will consist of seven separate blocks, including two blocks for bedrooms, a block for dining areas and kitchens, one block for medical care, with an infirmary, offices and waiting areas and other blocks for security, laundry and access control.

This Costa Blanca project has echoes of the controversial Naval camp in Cartagena, where attempts to expand the migrant facilities from 600 to 900 residents have been met with stiff opposition. However, the Ministry has managed to circumvent these challenges by declaring the expansion as “emergency works”, which bypasses the need for municipal permits. This strategy could also apply in Torrevieja.

In any case, the reception of migrants has been a real headache for the Ministry since the current crisis broke out with the increase in irregular arrivals on the Spanish coast, especially via the Canary Islands route.

In the Vega Baja region, a hotel in Guardamar was temporarily used to house undocumented migrants, but tensions with local residents led to their relocation after an employee of the establishment reported having suffered sexual assault at the hands of one of the people taken in.

Torrevieja already hosts a Reception, Care and Referral Centre (CREADE) for displaced Ukrainians, one of only four such centres in Spain. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the city has become a haven for refugees, which is reflected in its latest census. Ukrainians now represent the largest foreign community in Torrevieja (7,650 residents), followed by Russians (5,837).