With an investment of €14.9 million, the Ministry for the Environment is set to move ahead on 12 January with the artificial nourishment of the beaches between Quarteira and Garrão (Loulé), covering a 6.7-kilometre stretch of coastline.
Aimed at mitigating cliff erosion and stabilising the area, the work is expected to be completed before the start of the next peak tourism season.
In addition to reducing cliff erosion, the intervention will also “ensure the stability of the entire coastal stretch and prevent any negative impact on the Ria Formosa barrier island system, on the leeward side,” the Ministry for the Environment and Energy said. Once completed, the project is expected to widen the exposed sandy beach by around 37.5 metres.
The contract has been awarded, following an international public tender, to the company Dravosa, which is due to sign the construction agreement on 10 January in Loulé.
Provided for under the Vilamoura–Vila Real de Santo António Coastal Zone Management Plan, the project required an environmental impact assessment and the issuing of the corresponding Environmental Impact Statement.
“This is one of several interventions already under way along the Algarve coast,” said the Minister for the Environment and Energy, pointing to works at Praia do Vau in Portimão, the renaturalisation of the Ancão Peninsula, the artificial nourishment of Fuzeta Beach and Armona Island, and a project currently underway to restructure the Quarteira groynes.
The Environment Minister concluded that these projects are essential to “ensure public safety and protect the coastline.”
Source: LUSA
