Monte Gordo is to change for ever. The tender for the eastern Algarve city’s redevelopment will be issued in November in a €200 million project that aims to propel the resort from a largely unplanned mixture of beach installations, hotels, camping facilities and bars into a wonder to behold, if the publicity can be believed.
The new plan will be tied together by a two kilometre long boardwalk with lighting, green spaces, shops and restaurants, but this is just the starting point for “dozens of interventions that will be carried out during 2017, including construction of a luxurious high-end properties and the creation of new leisure and restaurant facilities," according to Vila Real de Santo António mayor, Luís Gomes.
The new design complies in full with the Coastal Zone Management Plan (POOC) Vilamoura - Vila Real de Santo António and was released back in 2005.
The redevelopment of Monte Gordo is the largest such project ever undertaken on the Algarve's coast and will change the image and face of one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
The VRSA mayor claims that all the planning mistakes of the past will be eradicated in one swoop, commenting that, "All these measures aim to end all that was bad in our county, especially with regard to planning. For this reason, this unprecedented operation will invest in quality with a low urban density, enabling Monte Gordo to maintain the highest hotel occupancy rates in the Algarve."
Part of the plan is to build a new up-market hotel in front of the beach with views over the Monte Gordo bay.
The camp site will be decommissioned and a number of tourist properties will be built with an end value of €120 million. To the east of the city there will be a new tourist complex valued at €50 million.
Vila Real de Santo António council says it will be responsible for the work and will bear the financial burden of the project, its supervision and the coordination of the work. It has yet to be explained how the council will access this enormous sum, or what the maximum exposure for VRSA ratepayers will be.
To the south of Monte Gordo is the Lagostim oil exploration block, controlled by the Repsol-Patex consortium, where a huge gas reserve is known to exist. Whether hydrocarbon exploration and extraction will impact on the new Monte Gordo remains to be seen but it certainly will not help the city's tourist appeal if infrastructure or gas flares can be seen from the land.
