Aurora Jhardi, councillor for public service, says that the payment is continuing to be made and that the base for it was established in 1995. It was then the equivalent of 5,000 euros and has been increased over the years.
Jhardi recognises that the concession expired all those years ago but adds that there will not be a tender for a new concession before the May election. It will in any event be linked to a plan for reorganising the square. The infrastructure department has a project for this and the urban planning department will also need to come up with a report before this plan can be proceeded with. Jhardi notes that it is a complex matter and so the new concession will have to wait until a new town hall administration is in place.
This has been something of a theme where the Alaska has been concerned. The Partido Popular administration from 2011 to 2015 left its future in the hands of the current administration. There had been a technical proposal to remove the bar, but a campaign to save the Alaska led the PP to hold off until after the election in 2015.
