Faro council today stated that the dredging of the Faro to Olhão channel will start in July 2015 as the contract now has been signed between the Polis Litoral Ria Formosa company and the contractor, a local subsidiary of Rohde Nielsen from Copenhagen, Denmark.
The signing session was scheduled for July 9 but the preliminary survey work started a while ago, according to Faro council.
The €1.5 million cost will cover the dredging of the channels between the Faro commercial wharf and the Olhão strait but fails to open up the channels leading to the open sea at Armona and Farol and already has been criticised by fishing organisations as only helping the commercail traffic to and from the Faro docks.
This may be because dredging is only planned for the Faro council area as a reward for Bacalhau's duplicity over the 'islanders problem' while Olhao's mayor finally became a supporter of the islanders' rights of residence and hence he receives no treats from Lisbon.
Faro council is "satisfied that the work will improve navigability and the working conditions of those who make a living from the Ria Formosa area."
The council claimed that the extracted sand will be used to build up dunes which will have "very positive effects both for minimising the risk to people and in repositioning and maintaining the ecosystem in this particularly sensitive area."
The main reason for the dredging is to increase the channel depth to make navigation easier and safer in an area that is used by pleasure and commercial craft, but it seems, only to and from Faro docks.
Faro mayor Rogério Bacalhau agreed to drop his opposition to the controversial destruction of islanders’ homes by the Polis company in return for some dredging, he now has his wish and expressed satisfaction at this "constructive intervention."
It will take more than this dredging work for the Ria Formosa islanders to forget Bacalhau's duplicity and the ease at which he was bought off by the Environment Minister.
