Page "Economy of Gibraltar" Paragraph 20

Preliminary work was begun in 2004 on a 10-year project to construct a new hotel and marina project on the Eastside of the Rock, overlooking Spain's Costa del Sol.

Designed by world-famous British architect Norman Foster, the 2 billion euro mega-project will feature three, 200-metre long finger quays and a sweeping kilometre-long curved breakwater to surround them, totaling over 300, 000 square metres of infill.

The project, known as Sovereign Bay, will include several hotels and casinos and is scheduled for completion in 2014.

The deep-draft breakwater will be capable of berthing large ocean liners within the " bay ", while the marina will accommodate 500 private boats.

Spanish news outlets expressed outrage over the Sovereign Bay project in January 2009, particularly over the fact that infill material to create the quays and breakwater was reportedly coming from Spanish quarries in Andalucia.