Three of the Algarve’s decrepit national monuments are to be transferred into private hands under the government's Revive programme.
These three historic monuments have been so neglected by successive governments and councils that they now are to be leased to private enterprise and turned into tourist venues.
The government claims that the ‘Revive’ programme shifts the financial burden from the public to the private purse, but then offers €150 million in grants to pay for the work.
Of the 30 public monuments nationwide, the three in the Algarve are: the Forte do Rato in Tavira, the Pombaline Warehouses in Vila do Bispo and the Fort of São Roque on Meia Praia, Lagos (pictured above).
The Forte do Rato, also known as Fortaleza de Santo António and Forte da Ilha de Lebres, was built during the reign of D. Sebastião to protect the mouth of the river Gilão and the entrance of the port of Tavira.
The Pombaline Warehouses of the extinct Companhia Geral das Reais Pescarias do Reino do Algarve (General Company of the Royal Fisheries of the Kingdom of the Algarve,) founded in 1773, were built on Roman foundations. Located at Boca do Rio, they are in ruins.
The Forte de São Roque or Meia Praia was built in the second half of the seventeenth century. It was part of a network of military equipment aimed at defending the region against potential invaders, pirates and privateers. Although classified as a Monument of Public Interest, it has long been abandoned and lies in a pitiful state.
Throughout the country there are 30 monuments that are now open to public tenders so that private investors can obtain long leases and develop them into tourist projects.
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See also: Government evades responsibility for 30 crumbling national monuments
