A little over a month after the welcome news was released that a 22 hectare tourist development near Benagil had been rejected by the Environmental Impact Commission, Millennium BCP has put an even larger, adjacent, tourist development on the market for €89 million.
The rejected project, submitted by Benagil - Promoção Imobiliária S.A. involved use of unspoiled countryside for a hotel, a tourist village and a hotel-apartment building, a total of 1,279 tourist beds.
The land is 300 metres from the cliffs between Benagil and Marinha beaches and was rejected by the Commission which damned the plan, stating that, "existing tourist pressure in the area, especially at the two popular beaches, an inevitable five-fold increase in traffic along the coastal road, the strong visual intrusion, the ‘artificialisation’ of a preserved stretch of coastline and the fate of a rare and protected plant, Linaria algarviana, all have contributed to its decision to issue an adverse Environmental Impact Statement."
Benagil Promoção Imobiliária is owned by FIMES Oriente, under the control of Novo Banco, which intended to develop the 12-year-old project originally proposed by Luís Filipe Vieira Ferreira, the property developer and Benfica president.
A much lager and adjacent plot now is being offered for sale by Millennim BCP which is offering land listed as “the property of Predicapital – FEIIF, managed by Interfundos – Gestão de Fundos Imobiliários, SA.,” for development in the parish of Porches, Lagoa.
The description is every nature lover’s nightmare in this unspoiled, precious area of the Algarve’s countryside and coastline and any development will fiercely be resisted by locals environmental groups.
The sales offer reads as follows: “Touristic project located in Benagil, Algarve the Golf Praia da Marinha is an area of 260 hectares, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean with about 2.5 kilometres which includes approximately nine beaches, one of which is the well-known Praia da Marinhal (sic), which gives its name to this development. The total land is composed of 108 plots all together representing the touristic project of apartments, villas, hotel and a golf course of 9 holes. Gross construction area: 73.940 sq.m.”
Millennium BCP also has been trying to sell of highly controversial "oversized, illegal and destructive" 359 hectare project between Armação de Pêra and Galé, renamed as the Salgados - Praia Grande Eco-resort, which spurred the opposition of locals, a strong environmental lobby and birding enthusiasts resulting in a 34,000 signature petition (HERE) and stiff opposition in court to prevent development in this unique countryside and wetland area, the last of its kind in the central Algarve.
Millennium originally contracted the US-controlled property consultancy, CBRE, to find a buyer for the Salgados - Praia Grande Eco-resort development which had been owned by Finalgarve which went bust, as did its parent, the Galilei Group which was owned by the deeply corrupt Banco Português de Negócios that cost the taxpayer €1.8 billion after a botched bail-out. The development is no longer listed on CBRE's website.
The old style plan submitted in 2012 was for three hotels, a golf course and extensive tourist development.
This latest environmental bombshell, 260 hectares and yet another golf course, on ecological and agricultural land, may struggle to receive planning permission under the same objections used by the Environmental Impact Commission to scupper the 22 hectare Benagil project. If so, the land being marketed by Millennium BCP is worth a fraction of its current offer price, leading to further property write-downs.
For the link to the Millennium BCP sales particulars, and pictures of the area, click HERE
