The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has put out to tender what will be the sixth transfer of sand for Rinconcillo Beach, an action with which the institution continues to fulfill the commitments made more than six years ago both with the Algeciras City Council. The project planned for this year involves moving 20,000 cubic meters of sand along the Algeciras coastline, with an investment of 147,839 euros financed with the Port Authority's own resources. As in previous relocations, the work will be carried out using long-arm excavators for loading the material, dump trucks for transportation, and heavy machinery, such as loaders or bulldozers, for later spreading on the beach.
This sixth transfer is carried out while progressing in the processing of the definitive solution to the problem of tilting that the beach suffers. In this sense, the Port Authority is waiting for the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge to make the project public that will allow for structural regeneration of the beach.
Background
In 2020, the APBA commissioned the Environmental Hydraulic Institute of the University of Cantabria to conduct a study on the coastal dynamics of Rinconcillo Beach and the proposal of corrective measures to stop the loss of sand in the northern area of the beach. The report, presented in February 2021, identified three main factors that explain the current state of the beach, alongside the impact of climate change on the coastline.
Among the cited causes are the effects of port infrastructure, especially the extension of the North Dike executed in the late 1990s, which has caused the beach to tilt southward. The construction of the Charco Redondo dam, which limits the natural sediment input from the Palmones River to its delta and thus to the beach, is also pointed out. In addition, the urbanization of part of the old dune system reduces the sand contribution during natural movements of the beach profile in the winter months. The study proposed several alternative actions, all based on the construction of a support jetty and the provision of a significant volume of sand.
In July 2024, the Coastal Demarcation of Andalusia Atlantic of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge publicly presented the selected alternative for the regeneration of the beach. The project includes the construction of a breakwater in the shape of an L, with approximate dimensions of 150 by 50 meters, as well as a subsequent provision of 160,000 cubic meters of sand.
The action would allow gaining about 27,000 square meters of surface area on the beach. The estimated cost amounts to 2.8 million euros for the breakwater and nearly 7 million for the provision of sand, an investment that will be co-financed by the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras and the General Directorate of Coasts and the Sea.
The next step will be the public information release of the project by the Ministry. Once the environmental procedure is overcome, the works for this intervention intended to offer a definitive solution to the problem of sand loss that has affected Rinconcillo Beach for years will be able to be tendered.