Mogán's 202 affordable homes: tender draws no bidders again
The plan to build and manage 202 affordable homes in Motor Grande, in the Puerto Rico district of Mogán on Gran Canaria, has stalled once more: the tender was declared "desierto" — void, with no bids. Not a single company put in an offer. It is the second time the process has failed, the newspaper Canarias7 reported on 19 August 2026.
Photo: Ceeseven, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Symbolbild).
The homes, on Calle Zaragoza, were to be let as regulated rentals at the official prices for protected housing (VPO). The project is now left without a builder again.
What happened
According to Canarias7, the public tender to build and run the 202 homes attracted no bid at all. That leaves the process "desierto" — empty of bidders — for the second time.
For the town, it means a further delay to a project meant to ease housing pressure in the tourism-driven south of Gran Canaria. The paper gave no new date or alternative procedure.
The two lots in detail
The tender was split into two independent lots. Lot 1 covered 72 homes with garages and storage, with a budget of €8.23 million and a 30-month timeline. Lot 2 covered 130 homes with garages and storage, with a budget of €15.84 million and a 38-month timeline.
Together the two lots add up to 202 homes and around €24 million. They were to be let at the regulated VPO prices, below the open market.
The model, and why builders stay away
Mogán is betting on the "incentivised affordable housing" model (vivienda asequible incentivada): private firms build and manage the homes, but the rents stay capped. That is precisely where the difficulty lies, and it reaches well beyond Mogán.
Tenders for affordable housing at capped prices are often unattractive to builders: construction costs and interest rates are high, while the rents they can charge are limited by law. When the numbers do not add up for the companies, bids fail to appear — as happened here.
The opposition's criticism
The only public reaction Canarias7 cites comes from the opposition. Juan Manuel Gabella, spokesperson for Nueva Canarias (NC) on the municipal council, called the empty tender "bad news for the municipality" and "a foretold failure". He said he had warned the mayor that the public-private model would not work.
The project, he argued, "was presented as a business, and time has shown it was not a business, not even for the companies". Gabella advocates a municipal public company to manage the homes while private firms build them. The paper reported no response from the governing group.
What it means for Puerto Rico
Without a builder, the scheme stays on paper for now. In Puerto Rico, where housing is scarce and expensive, that delays supply aimed precisely at middle- and lower-income households.
What comes next is open. The town could re-tender, adjust the terms or — as the opposition urges — change the model. The reporting named no concrete steps after this second failure.
Anyone interested in such rentals should keep an eye on the official channels of Mogán town hall and the Canary housing authority in case the contract is put out to tender again.
Key figures
- 202 affordable homes in Motor Grande, Puerto Rico (Mogán), Calle Zaragoza; tender to build and manage declared void for the second time, no bids (Canarias7, 19 August 2026)
- Lot 1: 72 homes with garages and storage, budget €8.23 million, 30-month timeline
- Lot 2: 130 homes with garages and storage, budget €15.84 million, 38-month timeline
- Total around €24 million; homes to be let as regulated rentals at VPO prices
- NC opposition spokesperson Juan Manuel Gabella calls it "a foretold failure" and "bad news for the municipality"
- Gabella proposes a municipal public company to manage the homes while private firms build
FAQ
- What happened with the Mogán tender?
- The tender to build and manage 202 affordable homes drew no bid and was declared void for the second time (Canarias7, 19 August 2026).
- How many homes and at what cost?
- 202 homes in two lots: 72 (€8.23 million) and 130 (€15.84 million), totalling around €24 million.
- What type of housing is it?
- "Incentivised affordable housing", to be let as regulated rentals at the official VPO prices.
- Who criticised the process?
- NC opposition spokesperson Juan Manuel Gabella, who calls it "a foretold failure" and proposes a municipal public company. No response from the governing group is on record.
- What happens now?
- It is open: there is neither a builder nor a timetable. The town could re-tender or change the model; no new date was given.