Generalitat presents Montnegre technical plans

A river corridor sounds like landscape architecture. But in Alicante, this is really a flood-control story with a park attached. The Generalitat spent May 5 walking nearby municipalities through the technical design for the Montnegre green corridor — a project that would reshape roughly 20 kilometers of river space from Tibi down toward El Campello, while also tying together towns that usually treat the riverbed as a boundary instead of a link. ### What is the project, exactly? The idea is to turn the Montnegre river corridor into a managed green spine — part natural space, part walking-and-cycling route, part hydraulic buffer. The Generalitat and Diputación de Alicante are framing it as infrastructure, not just beautification. That matters because the design includes zones that can be flooded once. ### Which towns are involved? This week’s technical presentation was for Mutxamel, El Campello, Sant Joan d’Alacant, Tibi and Xixona. Earlier coordination around the broader project also included Alicante. The corridor follows the river across municipal lines, so the whole thing only works if the towns treat it as one connected system rather than a set of local fragments. ### Why does flood control sit at the center? Because this stretch of territory is exposed to intense Mediterranean storm events. The project is being folded into the Generalitat’s post-DANA recovery and resilience push, and officials keep using the same core phrase: the corridor should work as both a park and a “lamination” area for water — it's like giving a surge room to breathe before it hits built-up areas. ### Why call it a corridor and not just a park? Because the connection function is almost as important as the environmental one. The plan includes accessible natural areas, routes for public use, and links between municipalities' flood-defense wall, which protects but usually separates. ### What changed this week? The big change is procedural but real: the Generalitat says it has now presented the technical aspects directly to the municipalities most affected. That means the project is moving past broad political endorsement and into design discussion with the towns that will have to live with the route, access points and hydraulic interventions. In other words, it is getting more concrete. ### Is there actual money behind it? Yes — and this is why the story matters now instead of six months from now. In March, the Generalitat said it would put €3.5 million into the first phase, starting with restoration and conditioning of the river channel through a Tragsa assignment. Those initial works were expected for late 2026 or early 2027, already put on the table. ### What is the catch? The catch is coordination. A 20-kilometer corridor