Construction in Ibiza continues to face an obstacle that repeats itself year after year: the lack of updating in public works budgets is leaving essential projects for the island un-awarded.
In 2024, a total of six infrastructure tenders were declared void on Ibizareflecting a trend that affects the whole of the Balearic Islands, where a total of 88 tenders went unsuccessful.
The main cause remains the same: the prices set in the tenders are not in line with the market reality, which prevents companies in the sector from bidding for the execution of these works. Despite the fact that the cost of materials has stabilized, the bidding documents continue to be published with outdated values, generating a lack of interest on the part of construction companies.
According to the Association of Builders of the Balearic Islands, many administrations have had to relaunch tenders with increases of up to 42% over the initial budget, which shows that the values set at first did not reflect the reality of the sector.
Key projects paralyzed due to lack of awarding
One of the clearest examples of this problem is the Cazadores traffic circle project on the Santa Eulària road. In a first attempt, it was tendered for 4.8 million euros, but failed to be awarded. Only after increasing the budget to 6.8 million, the work has managed to move forward in the contracting process.
Something similar happened with the extension of the Escoleta Can Cantó, which initially went out to tender for 2.5 million and was not awarded. After a new tender with a 30% increase in cost, the project was finally awarded.
Ibiza airport has also been affected by the lack of price updates in tenders. The renovation of the terminal entrance has remained unawarded on four consecutive occasions, maintaining the same budget on three of them, indicating that the amount allocated is not viable for companies interested in executing the work. The same has happened with the improvement of the boarding gates, which after a first unsuccessful bidding process, has not yet been put out to tender again.
Impact on infrastructure modernization
The problem does not only affect road and airport infrastructures. The refurbishment of the pavilions of the Official Language School was also not awarded in its first tender and, to date, a new process has not been reopened. The same has happened with the improvement works in Santa María and Pintor Tur de Montis streets, whose initial bidding process was unsuccessful and remains unresolved.
This situation has generated growing concern in the construction sector, as many of these works are essential for the island. In the meantime, the contracts that remain unawarded mean a delay in the modernization of infrastructures and the provision of basic services.
A problem that affects the whole of the Balearic Islands
In the Balearic Islands as a whole, the situation is equally worrying.In 2023, the number of deserted tenders was even higher, reaching 93, with a total value of more than 84 million euros. Despite the slight reduction in 2024, the problem remains structural and requires urgent measures to ensure that public works projects can be executed without unnecessary delays.
In Ibiza, the proportion of tenders that were not awarded in 2024 reached 26%, making it one of the islands most affected by this problem.
