For the past month, most of the 71 kilometres of the A-7 motorway has been dark at night after several municipalities decided to stop paying the electricity bills for the road as they believe it should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Development and not the municipal authorities.
This means that very busy stretches, such as between Torremolinos and Estepona, are totally dark at night.
The situation is not very good for drivers on the road and presents an extra element of danger. In addition, local businesses near the A-7 say they are losing business because of the situation and are demanding a solution to the problem.
The municipalities argue that the road is a national highway and as they have no control over the road or any say when it comes to, for example, adapting an access road or building a roundabout, they should not have to foot the electricity bill.