Junta receives 16 bids for third and final section of Malaga metro extension

The Junta de Andalucía regional government has received 16 bids - involving 39 companies entering into 15 joint ventures and one individual bid - for the construction of the third and last section of the latest Malaga city metro extension. It is a project with a base budget of 61.65 million euros and a completion period of 36 months.

The new 510-metre-long route will run under Calle Eugenio Gross, Calle Blas de Lezo and Avenida Simón Bolívar. The project also includes the construction of the future Hospital Civil station, which will serve the future third hospital of Malaga, the current health centre and Hospital Materno Infantil, as well as the residents of the Bailén-Miraflores district - the fourth most populated in the city.

Minister of public works Rocío Díaz has highlighted the importance of this last stretch, which proves the regional government and its president Juanma Moreno's "commitment to Malaga and its people". "The work is carried out at a good pace to provide Malaga with a modern, sustainable public transport system that meets its needs."

Like the previous sections, the third one will be built using the "cut and cover" system. This construction method consists of the installation of screens to delimit the tunnel and station enclosure, the replacement of the surface with a cover slab and, subsequently, the excavation inside the tunnel. The contract includes the installation of the track superstructure (the rails and points on which the trains will run), as well as the reintegration of the affected urban environment.

With this tender, the extension of the Malaga metro between Guadalmedina and Hospital Civil will be completed, totalling 1.8 kilometres and three new stations. It is estimated that this extension will bring around 3.5 million additional passengers per year to the metro network, which reached a record demand of 18.2 million passengers in 2024.

The extension of the Malaga metro is co-financed with European funds from the ERDF operational programme in Andalucía 2021-2027 and the Junta regional government's own funds. Díaz stressed that the completion of the project "will mark a turning point for Malaga's transport network, favouring a more sustainable city, with fewer emissions and more efficient public transport".