News In the Sun

The latest figures reveal that unemployment in the Canary Islands continued to climb in 2011 rising by 8.75 per cent, compared to the previous year.

According to the National Statistics Institute 27,500 people were added to the islands’ unemployment register last year, bringing the total to 341,900, which is more than 30 per cent of the total workforce.

The figure places the islands second only to Andalusia in terms of the percentage of people out of work and well above the national average of 22.85 per cent.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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Latest figures show a sharp decline in mortgage lending in the Canary Islands during November last year, with lending down by 40.9 per cent compared to 2010.

Similar falls in mortgage lending were seen across Spain with average lending falling by 35.8 per cent, placing the islands well above the national average.

According to the data from the National Statistics Institute, just 694 mortgages were granted in the Canaries in November compared to 1,694 the previous year.

By province Las Palmas Gran Canaria fared rather better with mortgages down by 33 per cent, compared to Santa Cruz de Tenerife where they fell by just short of 50 per cent.

Work on the Santiago del Teide – Adeje stretch of Tenerife’s ring road is running ahead of schedule.

On a recent site visit president of the Canary Islands’ Government, Paulino Rivero said the section of road had a projected completion date of March 2013.

However, Rivero said the work had gone so well that the completion date has been brought forward to December this year.

Because of the island’s terrain, the 27km section of road has included the construction of 70 flyovers, bridges and underpasses and, of course, the huge tunnel near Santiago del Teide.

To complete the job, workers have excavated five million cubic metres of rock and soil, poured 300,000 cubic metres of concrete and used 10 million kilos of steel.

As a result, the project comes with a price tag of around 200 million euros.

Work began yesterday on the installation of the first of five wind turbines on El Hierro.

The work is the first stage of an ambitious project aimed at making the island energy self-sufficient, using a combination of wind and hydro-electric power.

A spokesman for the company installing the turbines said the plan is to erect them at the rate of one per week, depending on weather conditions.

As well as providing the electricity needs of the island during the day, at night when demand is much lower, the electricity generated by the wind farm will be used to pump water up to a new reservoir, which will be used to produce even more power through a hydro-electric plant.

The project is being closely watched around the world, particularly by other remote island communities, as a solution to the energy needs for small population communities.