John Culatto
AN UNESCO advisory body has slammed a proposed skyscraper at Malaga’s port for the third time after Spain’s minister of culture gave the hotel project his approval.
The International Council of Monuments and Historic-Artistic Sites (Icomos), which advises Unesco on heritage matters, said the 116 metre tower project could have ‘serious repercussions’ for Malaga.
The council’s plans to give the hotel the go-ahead have been buoyed by central government minister for culture Miguel Iceta giving the project the green light in November.
Icomos said the hotel project was a threat to Malaga’s historical value.
The group said the proposed skyscraper was very close to Malaga port’s lighthouse, and ‘surpasses the cathedral and Gibralfaro mountain’ in the city’s skyline.
“The last one to arrive cannot be the protagonist of a city that has its roots in antiquity,” Icomos said in a statement.
Icomos even went as far condemning Iceta for giving the project his blessing.
It said the decision to block the project came ‘on the basis of scientific criteria’ put together by ‘the best heritage technicians in the world’.
As an example of what could happen, Icomos mentioned the development of Liverpool.
The north English city lost its Unesco World Heritage status after raising new buildings at its historic port.
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