«How is it possible that we have been waiting for thirty years for some dredging that cost 600 thousand euros? It is absolutely unacceptable!». The words are from Luís Gomes, the social democrat who is the mayor of Vila Real de Santo António, in reaction to the start of the dredging intervention, which began earlier this year and was presented last Wednesday, in Ayamonte.
In an interview with Sul Informação, Luís Gomes said that "this Government and the Junta de Andalusia go down in history for having provided this dredging". But the thirty-year delay in starting the dredging «is clearly a testament to the incompetence of politicians who, over time, on both sides of the border, have not been able to mobilize either the means or the political pressure so that the intervention becomes a reality. », he stressed.
Luís Gomes: A 30-year delay «is clearly a testament to the incompetence of politicians who, over time, on both sides of the border, have not been able to mobilize neither the means nor the political pressure so that the intervention becomes a reality»
The Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, the Andalusia Council, and the Municipal Councils of Vila Real de Santo António and Ayamonte presented, on Wednesday, at the Ayamonte quay, the dredging work of the mouth of the River Guadiana, whose works started in early 2015.
This, which is the first phase of the desilting of the Guadiana, will allow the river bar to recover a minimum depth of 3,5 meters and is valued at 723 euros.
The intervention, which will last until March, is based on the memorandum of understanding signed in Lisbon, in 2014, between the Portuguese Government and the Junta de Andalucia, and is being conducted by the Consejería de Fomento y Vivienda da Andalucia.
The intervention comprises two phases – the first, already in progress, and which is being carried out by the Spaniards, the dredging of the mouth of the Guadiana.
The second phase, to start soon, has to do with the signaling and navigability of the Guadiana, from the international bridge upwards, and is the responsibility of Portugal.
The dredging will focus on an area 1250 meters long and 60 meters wide, and around 55 cubic meters of sediment will be removed from the bottom of the River Guadiana, which will be used to replenish the beaches closest to the mouth.
During the ceremony, David Santos, president of CCDR Algarve, highlighted the importance of the Eurocity of Guadiana in this process and listed the economic and tourist advantages of this intervention for the border municipalities of VRSA, Castro Marim and Ayamonte.
In your interview with Sul Informação, the president of the municipality of Vila Real underlined that the delay in the dredging «cut the legs of the Guadiana and cut the legs of a set of possibilities of the councils of Vila Real de Santo António, Aymonte and all those who are here around the Guadiana».
Luís Gomes gave examples: «for 30 years, fishing was killed because there were no conditions for boats with greater draft to enter the mouth of the Guadiana».
With the intervention now underway, the mayor argues that the possibilities that open up "are immense". «When the dredging is done, other types of vessels, even recreational boats, may arrive here at the port of VRSA. These are new maritime-tourist potentials of the VRSA marina and the Eurocity of the Guadiana that can now be explored».
The mayor, which classifies the intervention at the mouth of the Guadiana as “strategic”, admits that the VRSA recreational port “is not prepared for different boats, with larger drafts and dimensions. But dredging makes it possible to create an opportunity, in VRSA, for the expansion of the leisure port or for the construction of other recreational ports, which attract boats of other dimensions».
Luís Gomes: «600 thousand euros are two roundabouts», so it is «ridiculous» the time the dredging has been waiting
Luís Gomes, who is also the president of the PSD/Algarve, criticizes the lack of vision that led to the postponement of the work. "Because, at times, there is no objectivity in the policy, an intervention with a very good cost/benefit ratio was difficult and the cost of which is in no way significant." Because, he stressed, «600 thousand euros are two roundabouts», so it is «ridiculous» the time the dredging has been waiting for.
But the mayor makes a point of warning that attention to the Guadiana cannot stop with the intervention that has already begun. “It's money thrown into the river if we exhaust the dredging work now. It requires a dredging every year. The work that is now being done to remove sediment from the bottom is spoiled if we do not guarantee its future management».
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