The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, highlighted on Monday the importance of investing in security infrastructures to “improve social and territorial cohesion”. “A Civil Guard headquarters is not just a building, it is a point of reference for its neighbors, a permanent presence of the State,” he said at the inauguration of the new Civil Guard headquarters in Mieres (Asturias).
The minister has advanced the works planned in Asturias within the second Infrastructure Plan for State Security, approved last March, which has an estimated investment of 17 million euros for the construction of two new cantonments in Avilés and Pravia. Grande-Marlaska explained that “the commitment to security gives results” and referred to the main benchmarks in this field in the Principality of Asturias.
“The number of agents has grown by 6 percent since 2018 and Asturias today has a crime rate 14 points below the national average,” he said. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the president of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, and also attended, among other authorities, the delegate of the Government in Asturias, Adriana Lastra, the general director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, and the mayor of Mieres, Manuel Ángel Álvarez.
Almost seven million investments
The new Civil Guard headquarters in Mieres has involved an investment of 6.8 million euros, within the framework of the First State Security Infrastructure Plan. The design has provided for the separation of the use of homes and offices in several volumes, in addition to having an additional volume of shared use as garage-parking.
The official premises building has 1,909 square meters built, with a basement with 22 parking spaces for cars and eight for motorcycles. The housing building, ten in total, has 1,370 square meters built and seven parking spaces in the basement. All of this is complemented by 18 parking spaces on the surface. On the other hand, to improve the comfort of the occupants and contribute to the sustainability of the building, a thermal and acoustic insulation has been installed to limit the energy demand. In addition, photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof to meet the percentage of energy production demanded by the air conditioning system, through renewable energies.
The new quartering houses the Post of Mieres with services of attention to the citizens for the filing of complaints and other procedures. It also has units of Judicial Police, Intervention of Weapons and Explosives, Traffic, GREIM, the Investigation Team of the company and VioGén Team. The new quartering guarantees citizen security in a territory of 760 kilometers and more than 37,000 people from the councils of Mieres, Lena and Aller. It also provides service in strategic areas such as the winter seasons of Pajares and San Isidro.