Works begin to reclaim land off Gibraltar’s coast for new Eastside marina development – as Spanish protests claim all the waters around the Rock are theirs

LAND reclamation is set to begin on Gibraltar’s controversial 150,000 sqm Eastside marina project and will continue throughout the month of August.

It will see the addition of a sprawling port and commercial park which will transform the character of the Rock and the surrounding waters on the Mediterranean side.

A floating barge will be stationed for the purposes of filling in rocks and other debris which will be used to create the new development.

The Gibraltar Port Authority advised vessels operating in the waters that it will be lit and manned during the night.

READ MORE: Spain sends warship to ‘deter’ Gibraltar from ‘invading Spanish sovereign waters’ with new marina development – after claims it would impose a ‘hard border’ on the British Overseas Territory

“Maritime users (including paddle boards, kayaks, etc) are requested to keep clear of the work,” it added.

The month-long land reclamation will pave the way for the construction of luxury apartments, offices, a shopping centre and restaurants as well as a new marina that could add €3bn of economic value to the territory.

The €330 million project will also add parks, playgrounds, and community centres to Gibraltar’s less-populated eastern side.

The land refill is set to utilise the rubble pile that has long been an eyesore near the Hassans Centenary Towers.

However, activists – both local Gibraltar residents and Spanish ecologists – have been quick to decry the potential damage and destruction that the project will do to protected wildlife habitats on Gibraltar’s eastern side.

READ MORE: Gibraltar is accused of dumping tonnes of potentially toxic construction waste into poor neighbouring border town in Spain

Spain’s Ecologists in Action have claimed that the rubble, which was dug up to build the Kingsway Tunnel, contains traces of aviation fuel, heavy metals and petrochemicals.

Protests over the Eastside project have also been growing in Spain.

Algeciras’ combative mayor and PP senator Jose Ignacio Landaluce has raised the issue in Madrid.

“How does the Spanish Government intend to defend compliance with environmental regulations, not only national, but also those of the European Union, and protect the citizens of Campo de Gibraltar in this regard?” Landaluce asked, according to Europa Sur.

Landaluce also believes that the land reclamation off the coast of Gibraltar is happening in Spanish territorial waters, and demanded to know if his own government believes the development violates the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.