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Xàbia Approves Desalination Plant Reversal Amidst 500,000 Euro Delay Cost

The council unanimously approves public management via Amjasa, but the opposition criticizes the delay and the financial burden on municipal coffers.

Generic image of a water pipe with a pressure gauge.
IA

Generic image of a water pipe with a pressure gauge.

The Xàbia council has unanimously approved the technical report for the reversal of the desalination plant to public municipal management, through Amjasa, overcoming the final key step.

In an extraordinary plenary session held this Thursday, all political forces in Xàbia, with the exception of Vox, have given the green light to a technical and economic feasibility report confirming the municipal water company, Amjasa, as the most efficient manager for the desalination plant. This option will result in an annual saving of 115,000 euros compared to direct management by the town hall and prevents its potential award to a private company.
However, the unanimity in the decision has not avoided disagreement regarding the time taken to reach this point. The socialist spokesperson, José Chulvi, has accused the mayor, Rosa Cardona, of "neglect" and stated that the plant's reversal to public management is happening "despite her." Chulvi recalled that the contract with Acciona, the company still managing the plant under an extension, ended in December 2023, and criticized the lack of significant progress in the municipal file between November 2024 and September 2025.
According to the PSOE, the delay in management has had a cost for Xàbia's public coffers, estimated at around 500,000 euros, corresponding to payments to Acciona from the contract's end until the effective reversal date. Chulvi lamented that plenary agreements are not being met and that the sessions are becoming "a mere show."
Furthermore, Chulvi pointed out that during this period, the municipality has not had full control of the plant, as only 76% of its high-pressure pipes are available, which could reduce its performance.
For her part, Mayor Rosa Cardona defended that the process has been complex and "unprecedented in Spain," working "from scratch" to guarantee the water supply. She denied neglect and highlighted the work of the technicians, although she admitted that they have not always been "so well accompanied" by the technical services. Cardona downplayed the additional costs, calling them "minimal," and suggested that the previous socialist government had not adequately prepared for the desalination plant's recovery.
The councilwoman for Compromís, Carme Català, voted in favor out of "responsibility and trust in the technicians," while the Vox councilor, José Marcos Pons, did not attend the plenary session.
The report now approved must be publicly displayed for thirty days before its final ratification in another plenary session, which will pave the way for Amjasa's entry into the plant's management.

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