Malaga’s San Agustín library project halted again over rising costs

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Refurbishment of the historic former school on Calle Pedro de Toledo stalls as budget hits €21 million following Phoenician and Roman discoveries

Jesús Hinojosa

Malaga

Wednesday, 22 April 2026, 16:08

History is repeating itself at the former San Agustín school in Malaga. As happened in early 2024, the plan to convert this building into the new headquarters of the state library in the city has been put on hold, once again due to cost overruns.

In early March, Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun said that the budget had increased by another three million euros due to adaptations to the project based on archaeological remains construction had uncovered.

During Urtasun's visit to Malaga for the film festival, the minister hesitated to confirm that the building's renovation would be completed this year, as initially planned. Several weeks after those statements, the work halt demonstrates that the project is once again facing difficulties and it remains unclear when these will be resolved.

According to sources, the work began to slow down in February and has now come to a halt, causing concern among the Augustinian friars who run the adjacent church of San Agustín. Sources have indicated that the temporary state of the former Augustinian convent and school due to the ongoing construction, is detrimental to the church, especially during periods of rain.

Urtasun announced last month that, with this second budget amendment, the cost of the project will reach 21 million euros, compared to the 18 million just a year ago. However, given the current standstill in the works, it does not appear that the construction companies and the central government have fully agreed upon this second cost increase.

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