As I wrote in the first post about La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Sciencies) of València, it is a nice cultural complex, made up of several buildings which were built between 1996 and 2009. But there is a reverse side of the coin: this complex is a symbol of wasteful spending, causing a huge debt for decades that is limiting budgets since its building. The cost overrun for La Ciutat de les Arts y les Ciències was near three times higher.
Since the 1990s the governments in the Valencian Community (Spain) were doing mammoth projects with large cost overruns and big-money illegal commissions for themselves. It was an era of overspend and corruption, with a repetitive system: a project launched by the government, some construction company offering commissions and gifts for the gang, and the government awarding the contract to the most generous constructor. Between 1995 and 2011, there were three presidents in the Valencian Community: Eduardo Zaplana (currently in jail), José Luis Olivas (currently being investigated) and Francisco Camps (currently being investigated); and a mayor of Valencia, Rita Barberá (died when was being investigated). All of them of the right-wing party PP (People’s Party).
In the first project of La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències there were also four skyscrapers, later changed to three although higher, Les Torres de Calatrava (Calatrava Towers). This project has been abandoned for obvious reasons.
It seems we aren’t here very good voting in elections, right?
Photear 