The coastal protection work between Praia da Rocha and Praia do Vau, in Portimão, should be completed in May, in a project worth around two million euros, said this Saturday, December 6, the Minister of the Environment.
During a visit to the construction site, Maria da Graça Carvalho explained to journalists that The ongoing artificial feeding of sand will make it possible to solve the problem of lack of sand in that section, at least for a “large set” of yearsalso mitigating the erosion of the cliffs.
“It is a project that will cost around two million euros. There are 220 thousand cubic meters of sand that are transported to a length of 1,350 meters of beach”, he stated, clarifying that the sand will be taken from Praia da Rocha to the other beaches.
The work will “shorten the distance to the sea at Praia da Rocha, which is too much, and transport this sand to the beaches as far as Alvor”, specified Maria da Graça Carvalho, highlighting that this is a very important intervention to defend that area of the Algarve coast.
This is one of the first interventions, financed by the Sustainable Operational Program, with the national participation of the Environmental Fund, being the next one is planned to be larger on the coastal strip between Quarteira and Garrão, in the municipality of Loulé.
“We are going to sign the contract for Garrão at the beginning of the year – we are trying to make it by Twelfth Day – the contract for Garrão, and it is a bigger, more complex project, worth almost 15 million euros”, he stated, stressing that it is a very needy area that has suffered from erosion for many years.
The work in Portimão began at the beginning of November and will last seven months, expected to end in Maybut, according to the government official, an effort is being asked of the company so that from April onwards most of the beach will be usable.
“We have financing in the Cohesion Fund of around 140 million [de euros] by 2028 and we want […] carry out the works that are essential on the coast throughout the country”, said the government official.
After visiting that work in Portimão, the Minister of the Environment went to Quinta do Lago, in the municipality of Loulé, where she inaugurated a Waste Water Treatment Station (WWTP) designed to treat water for irrigating golf courses and public gardens.