The Granada Province in Southern Spain is a popular destination for house hunters - here property is typically cheaper than in Costa del Sol's resorts like Marbella, Estepona or Fuengirola. With the Costa Tropical, ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada and the City of Granada within easy driving distance, why pay over the odds at the Costa del Sol? Now the infrastructure has been vastly improved in the province and the final stretch of the A7 motorway will make travelling to the coast even easier.
A Quarter of a Century in the Making
It took more than 25 years to construct the Autovía del Mediterráneo, which connects the entire Mediterranean coastline from La Jonquera in Catalonia to Algericas in Andalucía's Cadiz Province. The final stretch connects the Granada towns of Carchuna and Castell de Ferro, just 10 km distance, but constructed at a cost of 164.54 million euros. The high cost and endless delays were blamed on the complexity of the terrain over which the motorway runs. The first stone of this final stretch was already laid in 2002, and the original opening scheduled for 2008.
Numerous complications and set-backs were caused, because the motorway is crossing over mountainous terrain that runs very close to the sea. A complex network of tunnels, viaducts and bridges was required to connect the two towns with the rest of the Autovía del Mediterráneo.
Although seven years behind schedule, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was upbeat when he opened the final stretch of the A7 just over a week ago, saying that the project had been "one of the most complicated" undertaken in Spain in recent memory but that its "enormous importance" for the people of Southern Spain made this a project the government backed 100%.
Opening up Southern Spain to better Business Opportunities for All
The completed A7 route will cut the travelling time from Malaga to Almeria to under two hours and will help the region's economy enormously, as now a far better influx of tourists from Granada Province can be expected to cross over into the Malaga Province for excursions.
Ana Pastor, Minister of Public Works agreed with the Prime Minister at the opening, stressing that "It is of great strategic importance to have Andalucía connected; both for the region and the nation’s road network."
It's not just tourism that will profit from the motorway: the region's agricultural sector should also see a great boost to its fortunes. This will be particularly felt in the Axarquia, where the motorway link will improve connections with western Almeria and the Costa Tropical resorts, two of the country's leading producers of greenhouse products and cultivators of subtropical fruits.
However, for those with a holiday home in the Granada Province it will mean better access to the rest of Southern Spain, more excursions and perhaps even making a decision to move permanently to Granada.
A Boost for Granada Province's Property Market?
The province offers house-hunters a huge variety of architectural styles, from fully renovated historic townhouses, luxury apartments and mansions in Granada City to fincas in rural areas and ski chalets in the Sierra Nevada. The Granada Province is also very popular with investors in student housing - Granada City has a vibrant student population in constant need of housing, so buying a small apartment or townhouse is seen as a good long-term investment.
As one of Spain's most visited cities, historic Granada holiday accommodation sees demand from tourists throughout the year, not just in spring and summer. Modern apartments and villas can be found at the lovely Costa Tropical, which is still far less developed than the Costa del Sol and offers house buyers great variety in style as well as price.
Improved motorway access to the rest of Andalucía will help the Granada Province to sell off some of its excess newly built housing stock in due course, as more visitors crossing over from Malaga Province will undoubtedly fall in love with the Sierra Nevada and Costa Tropical and start looking for holiday homes in Granada Province.
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