The new mayor of Silves does not agree with the real estate and tourism project planned for Praia Grande, next to Lagoa dos Salgados, but admits that, «with everything that has already been approved, it will be very difficult for us now to stop the situation".
In statements to the Sul Informação, Rosa Palma reacted like this to the Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) «conditional favorable» issued on October 30 by the Secretary of State for the Environment Paulo Lemos.
«While I was a councilor, I was never in favor of this Praia Grande project, in the way it is planned. Now that I am at the head of the local authority, my opinion is the same, but that of the opposition is, of course, different from ours», added the communist mayor.
Rosa Palma defends that, in that area, «we could have a sustainable project, based on nature tourism and no longer a project equal to so many others».
The mayor of Silves also says she doubts the promises of employment presented by the project's promoters, and that they are one of the arguments used in the DIA to give a "conditional favorable" opinion. “In the construction phase, there may be some job creation there, but then what? We just have to look at the situation on the side [of the Salgados project], which has stopped and left many people unemployed,” said Rosa Palma.
The mayor, however, guarantees that she has not given up trying to change the process and admits that it is still possible to “enter an understanding with the promoter, to change some situations. There has to be a way to reach a consensus, to look for a way to do things differently».
Rosa Palma also says that she has already been contacted by associations for the protection of the environment and other entities that make up the Platform of Friends of Lagoa dos Salgados, «to talk and debate what is intended for that location». "The environmental associations still have the chance to challenge the project in court terms, so I hope they do," he concluded.
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