New Marinas Overseas

Man made islands seems to be all the rage at the moment with countries throughout the world competing to be the next to create a luxurious marina development out of the sea. Everyone is familiar with the Palm and the World in Dubai, but there are several others either in planning or currently under development. One such is Sovereign Bay off Gibraltar, near Spain, so if you are planning on a move with your boat, or thinking of your retirement in the sun, this could be an exciting project to watch!

The proposed location for this paradise island is on an existing area of reclaimed land to the east of the Rock of Gibraltar. Costing 1.8 billion and estimated to take 10 years to complete, this will put Gibralter ( and Spain ) firmly on the map. With the recent airport developments, the new terminal building opening in 2009, and new airport access, the Rock is in a major redevlopment phase. Anyone who has flown to Gibraltar recently will know how hazardous take off and landing can be with the main road crossing the runway!!

The project is being designed by Lord Foster of Foster and Parters, and when complete will include at least two luxury hotels, a 500 berth marina, along with a boutique cruise liner terminal. The scheme includes a comprehensive environmental strategy, which capitalizes on the regional climate, location and orientation of the buildings, including using seawater from the surrounding Mediterranean Sea to cool the buildings.

The development will be accessed from a land-side gateway, just five minutes away from the airport, (so you can be off the plane and on your boat in less than an hour,) as well as from a water-side entrance via the new marina. The new harbour has been engineered to withstand the 6m high wave of a hundred-year storm. The sweep of the marina arm provides a focus for retail, cafe and restaurant life, terminating in a luxury residential development on the land-side.

The residential component will include a range of apartments with private swimming pools, terraces and sea views. The masterplanned wharf fingers of residential accommodation take full advantage of the available views from every corner of the site. Two beaches on each side of the development will be regenerated, with a spa and hotel located at the land-side gateway. The harbour will be connected to a series of landscaped public squares and plazas, with naturally-lit underground parking and direct pedestrian access, which will include a variety of leisure facilities, such as swimming pools and tennis courts, in addition to a full compliment of retail and designer outlets.

The Chief Minister recently described the project as a destination, not just as a development - ” 150 years from now it willbe regarded as the most important phase of Gibraltar’s evolution and developement, creating a comparable destination with anywhere in the Mediterranean”. Whilst this project has been muted for several years, I do believe that it will go ahead in due course. It has the full support of the government, and is being financed by Multiplex and the Reuben brothers, the billionaire private investors.

So if an island paradise is what you are looking for, but with only a three hour flying time from anywhere within Europe - this could be the one for you!!

For those of you who know Spain well, and perhaps live there or have a holiday home, new marinas are constantly being rumoured, but rarely come to fruition due to the powerful green lobby. However, I am assured by my contacts that this one is definaltely going ahead, so fingers crossed that more berths will be available in the next few years in this overcrowded part of the boating world.

The plans were confirmed in January 2008 by the Mayor of Nerja, and the new marina called Puerto Deportivo Nerja-Torrox, and work is planned to start later this year. The project will cost 34 million euros and take 2 years, with the marina located between Nerja and Torrox in Andalucia. The marina will have over 500 berths for boats between 8 and 25 metres, with a few berths for larger boats in excess of 35 metres.

The complex will cover a total of 229,000m2, 72,000m2 of which will be on land and a large commercial centre of 3,500m2 will be available including restaurants, cafeterias, shops and parking for some 300 cars. A marina in Nerja was planned almost 20 years ago, so I guess the phrase, better later than never applies. As I receive more details on progress I will ofcourse mention them here, along with details of berth brokers who may be handling the sale of the berths.