SALOBREÑA AND JOURNALISTS
The image of the Andalucian Costa Tropical will cross the Atlantic and arrive in Mexico thanks to a group of Mexican journalists who are visiting the town of Salobreña this week. The visit takes place as part of the annual programme for the promotion of the province organised by the Granada Provincial Tourist Board in coordination with the different tourist bodies across the province, according to the Salobreña municipal tourism office.
The journalists to visit this Granada locality represent communications media such as the newspapers 'Reforma', 'El Financiero' and 'Siete Días', and magazines such as 'Geomundo' and 'Marie Claire' among others. Their visit will take them to the old village centre, the monuments and viewpoints of Salobreña and will include a visit to a tropical fruits estate.

JEREZ CONGRESS PALACE
The inauguration of the new congress palace and exhibition hall in Jerez will take place in 2004 and not next year as had been planned. The new building, which will be located opposite the main façade if the Chapín Municipal Stadium. It will have an area of 25,000 square metres, 15,000 of which will be built upon.
The project, outlined by the Seville architect Guillermo Vázquez, has a budget of 25 million €, which will be financed by the Provincial Government and the Jerez town hall. The building will be able to cater for congresses of more than 3,000 people.
The anticipation which this project has given rise to reflects the support it receives from all the political parties represented in the town.

GRANADA CULTURAL CENTRE
The city of Granada will have a new cultural space in some 7 years time at the San Juan de Dios hospital – a monument which dates from the 16th century and which is considered to be one of the most important buildings of the city. This project is developed thanks to an urban agreement signed between the La General savings bank from Granada, the Regional and Provincial Governments, and the City Hall. The future cultural building, which is currently a health centre, will contain social works and different exhibition halls. The renovation of this hospital, which will see an investment of 18 million €, will not start until a new hospital is operating to take the transferred current services and that is not expected to be completed until 2009. The San Juan de Dios hospital will become a grand museum which will complement the cultural offer in Granada and, in its many exhibition halls, permanently show the funds of the Obra Social as well as classic and contemporary temporary exhibitions. The centre will have numerous areas and contain the latest in new technology.

AYAMONTE DEDICATES A STREET TO THE PESETA
The village of Ayamonte, in the province in Huelva, has become the first Spanish municipality to name a street 'La Peseta' which has been inaugurated this month. It's the fruit of an agreement between the local council which decided last January to say goodbye to the peseta with an important act in recognition of the important role the money had played in Spain in recent years. The president of the National Mint, Ferré Moltó, was honoured to preside the official inauguration, and revealed that his organisation is preparing a grand ceremony to say goodbye to the peseta on February 28, which will also serve to say welcome to the Euro as the only legal tender in Spain. Calle 'La Peseta' in Ayamonte is found in a residential area of this town which is close to Portugal, next to another street which the town named after the Granada singer Carlos Cano last year, close to the National Parador hotel. Sñr Moltó said he was confident that other municipalities would follow this example in honour of what was the currency in Spain for so many years.

THE MOLINO DE MAREAS WILL BE USED FOR TOURISM
The historic Molino de Mareas, a mill on the Arillo river dating from the 18th century which made use of the movements of the sea in the Bay of Cádiz to make flour, is to be used for tourism. At least that is the objective of the Cádiz City Hall which has started negotiations with the Union Salinera company, owner of the building, to acquire it together with neighbouring land.
The mill, the largest of those remaining in the Atlantic and which forms part of the historic heritage of Cádiz, is awaiting classification of being of official cultural interest. Despite this it is in need of urgent action to avoid its complete collapse given the ruinous state in which it now is. Muralla Zirí
Meanwhile the Granada city hall has decided to recover the city wall from the Zirí dynasty, dating from the 12th century which today crosses the Albaycín district of the city and which used to be part of the city's defences. The recovery work will cover more than 300m of wall and the restoration of 14 towers, which until some months ago were completely derelict. Next to the wall, on the interior side, a walkway will be created which will give a new view over the district of the Albaycín.

HERITAGE OF MANKIND CITIES
Córdoba city hall, together with the other 8 Heritage of Mankind cities, is to sign a triennial agreement for the promotion of the city. The agreement intends to increase the cooperation in development and promotion of the Heritage of Mankind cities between the Economy Ministry and the City Councils of nine Spanish cities classified in this way, Córdoba among them. The agreement is based on a series of annual programmes and will have a budget of about two million €. Although this is an agreement which covers all the Heritage of Mankind cities in Spain, each city will decided its own form of promotion.
Meanwhile the Plan for Tourism Excellence awarded to this Andalucian city on December 20 last year has resulted in more than 40 projects to be carried out there this year. These actions, which also cost more than 2 million €, centre on a better identification of the city's monuments, signposting at the Archaeological complex of Medina Azahara, restoration of the Royal Stables, as well as the beautifying of the historic city centre of Córdoba, the Botanical Garden and the Paseo Alcázar-Rivera.

GRANADA SCIENCE PARK
The Granada Science Park reached a historic record number of visitors last year – close to 366,000. This number, together with the new extension to this interactive science museum, and the quality of the exhibits on show, make this the best year since the centre was opened in 1996. The figures for 2001 show that there was a 9,3% increase in visitor numbers on the previous year and of 24% when compared to the average of the previous four years.
With nearly 2 million entrance tickets sold since its opening, the Granada Science Park last year saw an average of 1,300 visitors a day, 700 of which visited the museum and the rest the planetarium. Together with the record visitor numbers, this centre opened the third phase of the museum expansion last year which allowed the site to extend to close to 30,000 square metres. In addition the park has started an ambitious programme on the internet which will allow any person interested in chatting about subjects of interest with recognised scientists to do so on the web page www.andaluciainvestiga.com This programme continues until next May.