Urban beaches, which in the beginning will be «sand gardens», a space for enjoyment and bird watching and a new hotel unit. The City Council of Olhão has a well-defined plan for the city's west riverside area and is planning to make the most of the deactivation of the existing Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) there, which is scheduled for this year.
The municipality has already made a preliminary study on what it wants for this area and is preparing to "agree on the execution of the project, to consolidate the idea", he revealed to the Sul Informação the mayor of Olhão António Pina.
«With the deactivation of the WWTP, associated with the relocation of our workshops, both in the City Council and in Ambiolhão, that space – even because it is adjacent to another area already reclassified and concessioned, the Port of Recreio – will be part of the riverside area that will need to be requalified», framed António Pina.
After all, this is a privileged space, next to the Ria Formosa and its appreciated natural values, which is why the Chamber believes “it has enormous potential for various uses”.
The base of the project will be the urban beaches that will be created to the west of the ring road that connects the roundabout of the EN125 [McDonald's] and Avenida 5 de Outubro, an idea that António Pina has been cherishing for some time.
«Taking advantage of the old aquaculture tanks, meanwhile opened by the Polis Society, we want to create urban beaches/sand gardens. It's because? Because as long as the water does not have bathing quality, which we hope, of course, will happen when the WWTP is relocated, it may just be a sandy area, to be close to the Ria and, eventually, to practice beach sports", framed the mayor from Oyenne.
«We will certainly have enough creativity to, even without bathing-quality water, find ways for people to refresh themselves on these urban beaches», he believes.
António Pina guaranteed that the issue of contamination of the rainwater network by domestic sewage it is not related to the lack of water quality in the area where the urban beaches will be installed. “In that area, the lack of quality results from the WWTP”, he assured.
These beaches will have a connection, through trails and walkways, with a «bird watching and fruition area», to be created in the area where the WWTP currently exists, «taking advantage of the current lagoons, which will continue to be fed. with treated fresh water from the new treatment plant being built in Salgados [Faro].
In addition to the connection to the South, this space for birdwatching will have another connection to the North, «taking advantage of the existing road and the bike path, which will continue until Faro».
«In the place where the workshops now exist, to the North of the future beaches, we want it to be a space with constructive capacity, as we have been approached by entrepreneurs interested in building a hotel there, which will be surrounded by a public garden, which will make the interface with the beaches and salt marshes," he explained to Sul Informação Antonio Pina.
«For the requalification of the area now occupied by the WWTP, we hope to have a contribution from Águas do Algarve. The remaining investments will have to be municipal councils, possibly with partners», he said.
The money needed may come from the business that will lead to the installation of a hotel unit on land that is currently owned by the Chamber. "This is the way we think about financing the project: taking advantage of the territory that has construction potential and high valorization and selling it to finance the project we are talking about", revealed the mayor of Olhão.
Comments