Villena's Plan to Spend €8.16 Million in European Funding

Villena has unveiled an ambitious plan to request a total of €8.16 million from the European Union through the Integrated Action Plan (PAI). This aims to finance the city's modernisation project. If approved, the funds will come from the EU's ERDF programme, which will subsidise 60% of the total cost.

The proposal developed by the Office of Promotion and Economic Development is based on three fundamental pillars for improving Villena's urban environment: enhancement of the Historic Centre; urban, economic, and social revitalisation; and the implementation of Smart Villena, which involves the introduction of digitalisation processes, artificial intelligence, and sustainability measures.

The Historic Centre Regeneration Project involves the rehabilitation of the Town Hall, improvement of accessibility, energy efficiency, pedestrianisation of roads, and the creation of new spaces for social purposes or public facilities. The most significant allocation concerns street redevelopment, amounting to €1.67 million. For the revitalisation of municipal housing in the historic centre, the fund request exceeds €430,000. This project includes an initial plan for the renovation of the Plaza Mayor.

In the Urban, Economic, and Social Revitalisation axis, the modernisation of the Municipal Market is included, for which €1.94 million is requested, plus another €69,000 for project drafting expenses. Alongside the Pyramid's renovation, provisions for economic dynamisation actions are also included.

Meanwhile, the Smart Villena Project focuses on the digital modernisation of the municipality through the improvement of technological infrastructure, implementation of advanced cybersecurity systems, and the creation of digital kiosks to facilitate online procedures and payments. Specifically, €450,000 has been requested for cybersecurity and backup of municipal equipment and servers, the creation of a citizen service chatbot, digital screens for public facilities, and the installation of digital kiosks for managing administrative procedures and paying fees and taxes.

This project is part of the Local Integrated Development Strategy (EDIL) 2021-2027, which stems from the former EDUSI, to finance the city's modernisation project.