Robot Wars

a cost of €8000 per day

The future is here, today, in Vila Joiosa. In what could only be described as a 'Terminator' style vision of what may come to pass, two giant robots are being used to demolish part of the Atrium Beach Hotel.

Regular readers will remember that this enormous hotel was just a little bit too enormous, in fact it was built thousands of square metres larger than the planning permission allowed.

The promoters have been fined heavily and are being forced to prune back the hotel to the original planned size. To do this safely, and without damaging other parts of the structure, the two remote control robots weighing 4500 kilos each have been brought in at a cost of €8000 per day. It's estimated that with a time-scale of 3 months to complete the works, the total cost of demolition will be around €6.4 million - so not like hiring a floorboard sander from HSS!

Obviously, the promoters have learned a valuable lesson about adhering to plans but there is also tragedy in the situation. What was to have been a museum dedicated to the noble art of beer drinking will be disappearing in the demolition robots' deadly embrace.

10 April 2006 Stephen White.