The Environmental Impact Study of the Allotment Operation of the IKEA Commercial Complex and Commerce Establishment in Loulé entered this Tuesday, April 29, public consultation, announces the Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) of the Algarve on your website.
The EIA public consultation period, ordered by the companies IKEA Portugal Móveis e Decoracao Lda and Inter IKEA Center Portugal SA, lasts 20 working days, until the 27th of May.
The Non-Technical Summary of the EIA, which the Sul Informação had access, concludes, as expected, that «according to current technical-scientific knowledge, no environmental or social impacts have been identified that raise doubts about the sustainability of the Project or that could significantly affect its implementation».
"Nevertheless, it is recommended to adopt a set of measures aimed at preventing, correcting or compensating for some of the expected negative impacts, which will thus constitute a very important factor to ensure the project's intended sustainability", the conclusions also underline. .
The IKEA Group announced last January that hopes to open the recruitment process for the new store in Loulé, where he expects to spend 200 million euros, at the end of this year, but the opening will only take place, at best, in the next year of 2015.
The Swedish multinational's store should have opened during 2014, but successive delays, namely caused by the need to resolve planning issues and the dispute of environment associations and business, forced to postpone the opening. The business associations even tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the project with an injunction, which was ultimately rejected by the courts.
Total area of more than 240 thousand square meters
The project is divided into four lots, with a total area of 242 square meters, including the IKEA store in lot 353,00, a traditional shopping center and another specialized in lot 1, and isolated commercial units, in lots 2 and 3 .
A new road network will also be implemented, which will "replace and improve the current section of the EN125-4", with a ring road with five roundabouts being built, as well as parking on the floors of the buildings to be created and in surface areas in each of the lots , with a minimum of 4 places for cars and 010 for heavy vehicles, in the four lots.
There will also be the delimitation of a zone destined to equipment for collective use (34 405,70 square meters), to be transferred to the public domain of the municipality, and the implementation of a green area for protection and framing (81 337,20 m2).
The subdivision where this IKEA commercial complex will be installed corresponds to what is provided for in the Caliços-Esteval Urbanization Plan, approved by the Municipal Assembly of Loulé on February 8, 2013.
Project requires works on the rivers but improves employment
Among the main impacts of the project, the Non-Technical Summary of the EIA admits that «the increase in impermeable areas and the regularization of the local hydrographic network will have a negative impact, leading to an increase in flows in the Ribeira de Caliços, affluent to the Ribeira de São Lourenço, but, on the contrary, there will be a positive impact due to the decrease in flows
currently affluent to the Ribeira do Biogal».
In any case, the solution to regularize the hydrographic network provides for “a transfer of flows from the Ribeira do Biogal basin to that of São Lourenço, aimed at reversing a situation that originated when the A22 was built”.
Not identifying major negative impacts, considered “of little significance”, the EIA points out, on the contrary, significant positive impacts of the project, starting with job creation. "The studies carried out indicate, in the case of the IKEA Store, that the construction phase of the project may involve the creation of around 2 800 jobs (considering direct, indirect and induced effects)", while the operation phase may lead to creation of around 1 700 jobs (again considering direct, indirect and induced effects)'.
In the case of the commercial complex, the estimates indicated are the creation of «about 9
jobs in the construction phase and around 11 jobs in the operational phase, always considering the direct, indirect and induced effects».
Places to consult the EIA
The EIA can be consulted at the Portuguese Environment Agency, at the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, at the Loulé and Loulé Municipal Councils. Faro, and, with regard to the Non-Technical Summary, in the Parish Councils of Almancil and Santa Bárbara de Nexe, which is also available internet.
After the public consultation phase, during which all interested parties may present their proposals or complaints, the licensing of the complex can only be issued by the Chambers of Loulé and Faro after a favorable or conditionally favorable environmental impact statement (DIA) issued by the Environmental Impact Assessment Authority or the Secretary of State for the Environment. According to legal deadlines, the DIA must be issued by July 8th.
In addition to the impact mitigation measures provided for in the EIA, according to the Caliços-Esteval Urbanization Plan, as a counterpart to the construction of the project, the Swedish Group will finance the improvements to the Almancil School (100 thousand euros), intervention in the connection basins to the Algarve Stadium (100 thousand euros), the connection nodes to the EN125 (531 thousand euros) and creation of pedestrian and cycling networks (60 thousand euros).
See here the EIA Non-Technical Summary.
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