Sant Antoni has already closed the contracting of Okuda San Miguel to convert the floor of Santa Agnès street, the main artery of the West End, in a large mural with the colorful geometric motifs that mark the style of the Cantabrian urban artist. The work, which will be ready two years after the initial forecasts, has been awarded for a final amount of 371,014 euros, as recorded in the State Contracting Platform, 151,000 euros above the budget estimated by the City Council at the beginning of 2023.
The Consistory had not responded to the closing of this edition of the reason for the increase in the cost of Okuda’s work, requested yesterday by this newspaper, nor the specific date of the start of the work. However, the tender specifications stipulate that the intervention must be completed within four months.
Deadlines
This execution period implies a wide margin of maneuver that is granted “due to the fact that unforeseen events may arise that make the conditions for the development of the project not suitable”, as detailed in the bidding document. Apart from unexpected incidents, the artist’s own estimate is that the work could be completed in 49 days, according to the same document.
Okuda’s project had been one of the reasons for the confrontation between the municipal majority of the PP and its former government partner of the PI, Joan Torres
In fact, in Sant Antoni’s first attempt in 2023 to embody Okuda’s design in the West End, the mayor, Marcos Serra, announced that work would begin in March to be completed the following month. Earlier that year, the City Council had paved Santa Agnès Street so that it could be painted over. At that time, the Consistory indicated that the intervention would cost 220,000 euros.
However, the deadlines were delayed. Easter week passed and, given the imminence of the tourist season and the reluctance of the West End businessmen, Serra suspended the initiative. Previously, Okuda’s project had been one of the reasons for the confrontation between the majority of the municipal government of the PP and its ex-partner of Proposta per les Illes (PI), Joan Torres, who opposed it head-on.
Guarantee
Serra’s other partner in his previous municipal mandate, José Ramón Martín, from Ciudadanos, also expressed his doubts about the durability of the paint on the floor of such a busy street. This aspect is included in the technical specifications of the City Council, which states that the materials used must be specific for outdoor use and allow “easy and simple maintenance”.
The artist must offer a one-year guarantee for his intervention and then undertake to carry out an annual review of the same. After this period, the City Council will be responsible for the restoration of the mural. In addition to the intervention on the ground, the project is completed with triangular awnings that will provide shade. These elements will also be the work of Okuda, according to the file, although it was initially announced that it was a design by the urban artist Misterpiro.
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