The foundation stone of the new building for the District Relief Operations Command (CDOS) of Faro was launched this Thursday, September 14th, in Loulé. The construction of this space will allow the regional Civil Protection structure to leave the old facilities located in the heart of the Algarve capital and move to Loulé's Permanent Service Helicopter Base (helipad) and the Loulé Fire Station.
Yesterday, the city of Loulé also awarded the construction of a new barracks for GNR, in Almancil, "an investment that will reinforce the presence of this security force in what is one of the most important parishes in the country in terms of tourist activity."
In both cases, it will be the Loulé Council that will provide the necessary funds to build the infrastructure from scratch. The new home of CDOS Faro "It will have an investment of around 1 million euros by the Municipality of Loulé, 85% of which will be co-financed by the European Union", according to the municipality. The GNR headquarters in Almancil will cost 1,1 million euros.
As for the new CDOS building, which should be ready within a year and a half, it will be built in a place with «unique characteristics in the region», in the view of Vítor Vaz Pinto, district operational commander.
Among them, the Loulé Council highlights «the good accessibility, with direct access and only 600 meters from Via do Infante, the privileged location in front of the Helicopter Base and the Loulé Fire Brigade, and close to the future Support Base Logistics in Quarteira, as well as immediate access to air resources».
"Having more robust and resilient installations to natural and technological risks, as a neuralgic infrastructure, with regard to Civil Protection and Relief, will allow more effective monitoring, ensuring continuity of command, control and coordination, in the timely response to situations that affect this tourist region of excellence, which is our Algarve», added Vaz Pinto.
The mayor of Loulé Vítor Aleixo, on the other hand, considers that the set of infrastructures that already exist in the place and that which will be born there make this area of Loulé «a citadel of security in the Algarve».
«We are strategically located in the heart of the Algarve, the access routes are the best, we have the airport very close and from here you can go, saving time and resources, to any point in the Algarve. Hence this strategic location, which in this aspect of security has been asserting itself as a new centrality of national importance and which is fulfilling its role in the Algarve region», he said.
The new building is the result of a broader project, part of the joint application of ANPC and the municipalities of Loulé and Almeirim to POSEUR, within the scope of the European Union Cohesion Fund.
The application also includes the BAL – Algarve Logistics Support Base, in Quarteira, «another important piece of equipment that is at an advanced stage of construction, and is expected to be completed in March».
Investment in Almancil is also motivated by the desire to increase security in the municipality. In this case, the beneficiary of the Loulé Council's investment will be GNR, which will have new facilities in the center of Almancil, next to the stadium.
The construction of this barracks from scratch comes within the scope of a strategic cooperation between the Municipality of Loulé and the Ministry of Internal Administration, «with the objective of strengthening the GNR facilities in the Municipality of Loulé».
So far, requalification work has been carried out at the Loulé Post and the inauguration of the new Territorial Post in Salir. The contract for the new GNR house in Quarteira is in progress.
"The importance of this new house of men who take care of the security of citizens is a need felt by all, especially in a parish with national importance that Almancil has given its tourist activity of excellence and given the importance of security for tourism," he considered Vítor Aleixo, at the ceremony to sign the contract for the execution of the work.
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