Marbella's planned €200 million transformation of the Marbella Marina at La Bajadilla could bring major benefits to the town. But with around 750 berths, yachts of up to 70 metres and significantly more activity, what will it mean for the surrounding area, its infrastructure and the Marbella that's already there?
From 18 metres to 70 metres. This isn't simply a bigger marina.
There is much to welcome in the recently announced plans for the transformation of Marbella Marina at La Bajadilla, the existing marina and fishing port at the eastern end of Marbella town, just beyond the main seafront promenade.
Of course, those of us who have been here for a while have heard ambitious plans for the marina before, and they haven't come to fruition. This time, however, the project has moved another significant step forward, with a new concession awarded and investment of more than €200 million proposed.
The plans would increase the marina from its current 268 berths to around 750, together with new commercial areas and around 1,000 parking spaces. Perhaps even more significantly, La Bajadilla currently accommodates boats of up to around 18 metres, while the new marina is intended to take yachts of up to 70 metres. A 70-metre yacht is almost four times the length of the largest boats currently accommodated at La Bajadilla, but length alone doesn't convey the difference. These are vessels with substantially greater beam, multiple decks, larger crews and very different servicing requirements.
This isn't simply a larger version of the marina that's there today. It would be a very different marina, bringing with it a completely different scale of activity and, if it happens as planned, it could transform this part of Marbella.
It has to be said, though, that a project on this scale also raises some interesting questions.
Marbella can't stand still
Progress inevitably brings change, and Marbella has grown enormously over the last 25 years. It would be unrealistic to expect everything to remain as it was.
There are certainly parts of the area surrounding La Bajadilla that could benefit from change. For example, I've often wondered whether the concentration of car dealerships close to the seafront still represents the most logical use of that commercial land. When I last changed my own car, I bought it in Fuengirola, partly because visiting the dealerships there was significantly easier. Trying to park at some of the Marbella dealerships can be remarkably difficult, which seems slightly ironic when you're going there to buy a car.
There's nothing to suggest that those businesses are going anywhere, but an investment of this scale may eventually change the way we look at the surrounding area as well.
Another Puerto Banús?
One question I find particularly interesting is how the new Marbella Marina will sit alongside Puerto Banús. Puerto Banús has more than 900 berths, accommodating yachts of up to 50 metres, and an international identity built around yachting, designer shopping, restaurants and tourism.
Marbella Marina feels very different. Its cafés, restaurants, beaches and paseo marítimo are part of everyday Marbella life. There is tourism, of course, but the area still has a noticeably more local and down-to-earth character.
With the new marina designed for yachts of up to 70 metres and potentially cruise vessels, will this area eventually begin competing for the same market as Puerto Banús, or will the two marinas develop different identities that complement one another? Hopefully, it will be possible to improve La Bajadilla enormously without assuming that everything surrounding it also has to become more exclusive and expensive.
How will people get there?
The plans include around 1,000 parking spaces, which is clearly very welcome, but the more interesting question may be how the cars are actually going to get to them.
Anyone who regularly drives along the A7 in Marbella knows how congested the coast road can be, and increasingly this isn't just a problem during the summer. A substantially larger marina means more visitors, employees, deliveries, taxis and other traffic. If cruise vessels become part of the picture, that could bring additional demands too.
Hopefully, the investment will therefore be accompanied by the improvements in access and infrastructure needed to make it work.
Marbella has seen an extraordinary amount of building and investment during the years that I have lived and worked here. New homes, hotels, businesses and attractions have brought considerable benefits, but it sometimes feels as though the basic infrastructure has struggled to keep pace.
What about the Marbella that's already there?
The paseo around the existing marina isn't an empty stretch of coastline waiting to be transformed. People already live, work and spend their leisure time there. There are homes, beaches, restaurants and businesses, and major construction inevitably brings disruption.
The challenge will be to manage that transition well and ultimately integrate the new marina into the town around it.
None of these questions are reasons not to welcome the project. Quite the opposite. La Bajadilla could become a major improvement for Marbella and help regenerate the eastern side of the town centre. Investment on this scale does not come along very often.
But perhaps the real measure of its success won't simply be the number of berths, the size of the yachts using them or the amount of money spent.
Hopefully, and maybe, this development will be an opportunity to get the balance right. When we look back at the transformation of Marbella Marina in the years to come, let's hope we see a project that was well planned, well executed and accompanied by the infrastructure needed to make the surrounding areas work better.
If that happens, the €200 million investment could prove to be very good news indeed, not just for the marina, but for Marbella as a whole. What we should be hoping for is more than an impressive new marina. We should be hoping for a project that has been thought through beyond the harbour itself, with the access, infrastructure and integration needed to make it work properly as part of the town.
