The second phase of a project to develop the multi-coloured Albufeira Marina has been given the go-ahead by the council with a start date in March for an eight month project.
A budget of €5 million will see the infrastructure laid down for a 73,000 m2 mixed development of shops, hotels, apartments and green space with a ‘romantic garden’ containing a waterfall flowing into the current marina.
The Marina de Albufeira company aims to sell the various development plots to investors when the infrastructure is in place.
When completed, the marina will end up as was envisaged in the council’s municipal plan way back in 2007.
"The idea then is to sell the construction lots to investors," said the company's João Amaral, adding that this second phase of the project will create a busier marina area due to the new hotels and shops.
In total there are 36 lots with a building permit of 10,930 m2 for housing, 22,379 m2 for tourist apartments, 13,060 m2 for trade and services and 26,680 m2 for hotels.
According to the Marina of Albufeira company, this second phase is for "a lower density of construction” and the detail plan "includes 51% green spaces and 21% of wet area."
Comments
At night in the Winter months the area has just a miniscule number of lights from the many multi coloured apartments showing, in the Summer perhaps no more than 40%. The area above the Marina is denuded of shops, Barclays Bank closed as have other emporia that started up. Within the Marina itself a few more restaurants and cafes have opened and there is a bowls alley(?). The Great Horror remains as it overlooks the roads and area above and on to the Marina itself, being the many skeletons of houses that stand starkly after the developers were forced to cease building having, I assume, moved into administration. There is also the hotel. Bare, never opened. Never completed. Now five years have passed by. How is there to be yet more building when there remains such a ghost town?