Costa Blanca
Construction slowdown clear in Alicante
By h.b.
May 2, 2008 - 8:16 AM

Contrasting evidence of the economic slowdown from the Costa Blanca yesterday. The number of licences granted for the construction of new property in Alicante has fallen over the first quarter of the year by 80% when compared to a year ago.

The first three months of this year a mere 265 licences compared to 1,400 over the same period last year, with the numbers being released by the Councillor for Town Planning in Alicante City Hall, Sonia Castedo, who said that the request for new building licences was ‘practically halted’.

Meanwhile the beaches of the province, and in Benidorm in particular, were full of sunbathers and visitors, many of whom had battled long traffic queues to get out of Madrid for the May day bank holiday. Hotel occupancy levels are reported to be better than Easter in many places.