Vega Baja Flood Plan Stalls with €314m Unspent as Program enters Final Months

The Partido Popular (PP) has taken the Government to task in Congress over what it describes as the “alarming” lack of progress on flood-prevention projects across the Vega Baja.

The party says barely 5% of the more than €330 million allocated to the region under the Segura River Basin Flood Risk Management Plan for 2022–2027 has been spent. That represents approximately €16 million, despite the programme entering its final year.

The parliamentary initiative, led by national deputy Joaquín Melgarejo, has been submitted as a written question demanding an explanation for the delays affecting several major projects.

The PP argues that the lack of progress is particularly concerning in a region that remains highly vulnerable to flooding following the catastrophic DANA storm of September 2019.

Among the schemes still awaiting contracts or firm construction dates are the Tabala dam, work on the Abanilla ravine, the Santomera diversion and the proposed green corridors associated with the renaturalisation of the Segura River.

According to the PP, these projects remain at the design, preliminary study or public consultation stage. The party is asking whether the delays are primarily caused by insufficient funding or by technical, administrative and environmental obstacles.

It also wants the Government to clarify whether annual internal monitoring reports have been produced and, if so, why the principal schemes have still not reached the construction phase.

The parliamentary questions highlight the potential consequences of continued delays for residents, businesses and agricultural land. The PP is demanding to know whether the Ministry has assessed the additional flood risk facing the population and the farming sector while the planned infrastructure remains unbuilt.

Particular attention is being paid to the Abanilla ravine project, which has been allocated €50 million but was officially classified as “not started” in the 2024 monitoring report. The party is requesting details of its current status and a firm date for the tendering process.

Questions have also been raised over the Tabala dam. Although the project has reportedly been designed and carries a budget of €71.8 million, it is not expected to go out to tender until 2027.

The PP is seeking an explanation for the timetable and asking what measures are being taken to address objections from farmers, particularly concerns over the quality of water returned to agricultural land.

More broadly, the party wants to know how the Ministry intends to secure agreements with farmers, irrigation communities and landowners where flood-control zones or green corridors require privately owned agricultural land.

It has warned that unresolved disputes could result in further administrative delays or legal challenges, pushing vital flood-defence works even further into the future.

The initiative also extends beyond the Vega Baja, asking the Government to disclose how much of the €840 million allocated to the entire Segura River basin has been spent and how its implementation rate compares with other Spanish river basins.

The PP says the figures are needed to establish whether the Vega Baja and the wider Segura basin are being left behind as the current planning period draws to a close.

The written questions were signed by PP deputies Joaquín Melgarejo Moreno, Macarena Montesinos de Miguel, Julia Parra Aparicio, César Sánchez Pérez, Sandra Pascual Rocamora, Maribel Sánchez Torregrosa and Rosa Quintana Carballo.

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