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(Updates with comment from Calatrava.) Valencia s City of Arts and Sciences, a cluster of futuristicbuildings designed by native-son architect Santiago Calatrava,was an emblem of civic ambition during Spain s long economic boom.The complex, including an aquarium, museums, and opera houseconstructed over the past 15 years, was intended to help Spain sthird-largest city become a world-class tourist destination. Now the complex has become a symbol of profligate spending that hasplunged Valencia into economic misery. After splashing out oneverything from a yacht harbor to a theme park, the Valencia regionis burdened with debt totaling 20 percent of its economy, a higherproportion than any Spanish region except Catalonia. The regional government has cut spending so drastically thatuncollected garbage is piling up in some Valencia neighborhoods andthe city hall briefly had its power cut off because of unpaidbills. We ve never seen anything like this, says VicentRipoll, principal of a local elementary school that ran out ofpaper and other teaching materials after the government cut offfunds. This is due to the bad management of politicians, Ripollfumes. Valencia s sunny Mediterranean beaches and the free-marketpolicies of its government run for the past 17 years by PrimeMinister Mariano Rajoy s Peoples Party made the region anepicenter of the Spanish boom. It spent about 2.4 billion to hostthe America s Cup in 2007 while helping to finance such projectsas a theme park that features replicas of the Minotaur s labyrinthand Egyptian pyramids. No Valencia project, though, has aroused more ire than Calatrava sCity of Arts and Sciences. Originally projected to cost 300million (about $375 million), its price tag more than tripled tosome 1.1 billion, according to estimates by opposition members ofthe regional parliament. The buildings are like symbols of an erawhen the politicians thought we were rich, says Ignacio Blanco, amember of the opposition United Left party. Critics have even set up a website targeting Calatrava, aValencia-born architect who has achieved global fame with suchworks as the Milwaukee Art Museum and the planned new World TradeCenter transportation hub but who has been known to exceed hisbudget. The website, , translates roughlyas Calatrava rips you off. Although the Valencia government has not released details ofconstruction costs, Blanco says his party has reviewed documentsshowing that Calatrava was paid at least 94 million for thecomplex, with his fees based on a percentage of the total costs.Because the architect s business is based in Switzerland, he haspaid no Spanish taxes on his earnings, Blanco says. Whiledescribing the situation as scandalous, Blanco says the faultlies not with Calatrava but with politicians who wasted publicbudgets. In a statement released to Bloomberg Businessweek by a representative of his office in New York, Calatrava saidcosts exceeded the original 300 million-euro estimate because localofficials decided to expand the project significantly. He said theproject had created 40,000 jobs, spurred other developments, andattracted millions of tourists. The country has seen a handsomereturn on this investment, the statement said. It is a shamethat political parties of Spain are taking a world-renownedcultural center and trying to tarnish its name, simply for theirown political gain. Although it spent more than most, Valencia isn t the only Spanishregion saddled with crippling debt. Regional governments weremainly responsible for Spain s budget slippage last year, missingtheir deficit targets by more than 100 percent. Says Jos ManuelGonzalez-Paramo, a Spanish member of the European Central BankExecutive Board: Regional finances are a black box that alwaysyields bad surprises when you open it. I am an expert from chinamachinemanufacturer.com, while we provides the quality product, such as wire stranding machine , China Aluminum Extrusion Machine, Cement Brick Machine,and more.
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