The new Agüimes Fairgrounds opens its doors

 

The president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, and the mayor of Agüimes, Óscar Hernández, presented this Thursday the new Agüimes Fairgrounds, a facility that is destined to become the main reference space in the Southeast of Gran Canaria for the holding concerts, fairs and all types of commercial, social and cultural events. The event, which was attended by a large representation of the companies established in the municipality, was also attended by Cornelio Suárez, president of the Aenaga Business Association, and Juan Acosta, president of Ecoaga, the Conservation Entity of the Area. Arinaga Industrial.

 

The Fairgrounds are located on a municipal plot of more than 10.000 m2, strategically located in the Arinaga Crossing, very close to the GC-1 highway and the Industrial Zone. It has large parking areas and is surrounded by gardens and green areas, right next to the Cruce de Arinaga Urban Park. It also stands out for the use of sustainable technical and architectural solutions, which will minimize maintenance tasks and reduce energy consumption, thus contributing to the environment. Its architectural characteristics, its particular elliptical shape, the quality of the materials used and its spectacular 11-meter-high translucent roof make it a unique building within the urban fabric of the municipality of Agüimes.

 

 

The interior space, of almost 4.000 m2, is completely open and versatile, suitable for hosting events and activities of different types. Its construction, recently completed, has involved an investment of 5,1 million euros, contributed 58,8% by the Agüimes City Council, 25,5% by the Gran Canaria Cabildo and 15,6% by the Government of Spain, thanks to an amendment to the General State Budgets for the year 2022 presented by the Canary Islands deputy Pedro Quevedo, who also attended the presentation event.

 

The premiere of the Fairgrounds with its first major event open to the public will be this Friday starting at 21:00 p.m. The Venezuelan singer Carlos Baute will offer a concert that has aroused great expectation throughout the Southeast of the island. The doors will open one hour before the start of the performance and admission will be free until capacity is reached. The Venue will reopen its doors on Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 23:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 16:00 p.m., with an intense program of children's activities, family shows, workshops and concerts. The Tribute to Los Panchos (Saturday, 13:30 p.m.), Los Lola (Saturday, 21:00 p.m.), Los Sabandeños (Sunday, 13:00 p.m.) and Los Salvapantallas (Sunday, 14:30 p.m.) will perform. An attractive restaurant area with food trucks will also be installed on the outdoor esplanade.

 

On Saturday, April 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 19:30 p.m., the Fairgrounds will host Neighbor's Day, a traditional neighborhood gathering that, until now, due to lack of a suitable space in the municipality of Agüimes itself, had been held in the Santa Cristina recreational area, in Santa María de Guía. The following week, during the first three days of Holy Week – Monday the 3rd, Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th of April – the Chiqui Plan children's fair will be held, three days of family fun with inflatable attractions, workshops, a giant playroom, games, music and shows. It will be a magnificent entertainment alternative so that the little ones in the house can fully enjoy their school holidays.

 

A complex work

 

The construction of this infrastructure began in 2009, with an initial project for the adaptation of the land, urbanization and foundations. After several years without activity, the works were resumed in October 2014 and it was expected that they would have been completed in 2017. However, the works were paralyzed again shortly after starting, when the company Dragados, which had been awarded the public tender , demanded an additional financial contribution that far exceeded the amount for which it had been selected compared to the offers of the other bidders. That incident gave rise to a lawsuit that the Agüimes City Council ended up winning, with a resounding opinion from the Canary Islands Advisory Council favorable to the public interest, recognizing the defense of the general interest by the City Council against the claims of the construction company.

 

After the resolution of the previous contract, the City Council was forced to start a new bidding process in order to carry out 60% of the works that had been pending at the time of the litigation and thus be able to complete the project. This final phase of the work, which was affected by the paralysis of economic activity during the pandemic, was completed this March, with the final details of the roof, one of the most complex and spectacular elements of the project.

 

A versatile space

 

Due to its particular characteristics, the new Agüimes Fairgrounds will be able to host a wide variety of activities: agricultural markets, business fairs, social and cultural events or musical shows. The mayor of Agüimes, Óscar Hernández, and the president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, highlighted during the presentation the value of this new infrastructure as a dynamic element of the local economy and commercial activity both in Cruce de Arinaga and in the entire Southeast region. The City Council is already working on the design of an attractive program for 2023, which will be announced in the coming weeks.