Teams from the ‘Regimento de Engenharia Militar nº 1’ based at the Tancos military base is to travel to the Castro Marim council area to clear agricultural roads and tracks.
The deal was struck last year in which the council pays the Engineering Regiment for fuel, lodging and materials while the soldiers get experience in teamwork and use of heavy machinery in often tricky locations.
The Regiment was commended for helping to tackle the fires this summer, clearing firebreaks and opening up access tracks, but now the threat of fires has subdued its men again will be on duty - this time to the benefit and safety of Castro Marim’s rural population.
The work achieved last year was impressive with more than 170 kilometres of roads and agricultural tracks cleared and upgraded across the parishes of Odeleite and Azinhal.
This year’s work plan includes clearing blocked accesses and opening up some new countryside roads: the mayor, Francisco Amaral, is delighted,
"The municipality of Castro Marim has an extensive rural road network, whose maintenance and rehabilitation requires a scale of human and technical resources that the municipality does not have.
“Many of these roads and accesses have not been cleared for more than a dozen years. This partnership with the Portuguese Army allowed us to tackle some of the most critical areas and allows locals to cultivate their land, harvest and transport their produce,” said Amaral.
