Government orders the demolition of one of the best-known hotels in Fuerteventura

The Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco) has officially declared the "expiration of the concession" for the RIU Oliva Beach Resort hotel and apartment complex in Fuerteventura. Situated on “maritime-terrestrial public domain land” within the protected area of the Corralejo Natural Park - specifically the Corralejo dunes - the complex is now facing demolition.

Teresa Ribera, the Minister of Ecological Transition, issued a resolution last Tuesday, signed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, instructing the "lifting and removal of existing facilities."

This essentially means the demolition of the RIU Hotels & Resorts-managed complex, which had previously filed a lawsuit against several ministry officials, accusing them of "manifest persecution" against the company.

The Ministry cites "repeated breaches" by the company Geafond Numero Uno Lanzarote S.A., owned by RIU and holder of the concession granted under the transitional regime of the Coastal Law for the hotel complex.

The concession, initially granted in 2003, was given in exchange for the company ceding ownership of Lobos Island to the State - a strip of maritime land separating Fuerteventura from Lanzarote. This agreement was later modified in 2007 and extended in 2016.

The Ministry highlights violations by Geafond that led to the "expiration of the concession," including unauthorised construction works, unexpected uses, and failure to dedicate a portion of the concession area, approximately 18,000 square metres, for public use. They argue that these actions constitute "a violation of both coastal regulations and the specific conditions of the concession."

The Ministry recalls the resolution of the sanctioning procedure against Geafond in March 2022 for the aforementioned reasons, imposing a fine of €204,000 and ordering the demolition of illegal structures. However, the company failed to comply with either requirement. The Ministry's administrative appeal was unsuccessful, leading them to challenge the rejection of the appeal before the National Court, awaiting resolution.

Regarding the year-long dispute between the Government of the Canary Islands and Miteco over jurisdiction regarding the coasts of the Canary Islands, which were transferred to the regional government on January 1s, 2023, the Ministry emphasises that, according to the non-binding opinion issued by the Council of State on February 15th, the authority to decide on transitional regime concessions lies with the State.

It clarifies that no autonomy has been transferred to regions assuming responsibilities related to titles for the use of maritime-terrestrial public domain land, such as the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Andalusia, and the Balearic Islands. Despite this, the Canary Islands government announced its intention last May to appeal to the Constitutional Court to resolve this jurisdictional conflict.

The demolition order does not include apartments within the complex, as ownership is not solely held by RIU - a further breached condition - since some were sold to third parties.

The Ministry has suspended the demolition of the apartment-occupied part of the complex "while clarifying the legal status of the 20 registered owners of these apartments who did not have the opportunity to apply for compensatory concessions."