The Municipality of Olhão wants to bring the area of the Fishing Port that borders Rua 16 de Junho «into the city», creating a public fruition area and new mooring spaces for pleasure boats. The execution of this project has already been awarded and is part of the requalification plans for the riverside area of Olhão, from the west entrance of the city to the roundabout next to the former Bela Olhão factory.
At a time when the beginning has been around for weeks the renovation works on Avenida 5 de Outubro – that of Municipal Markets and where many restaurants are located – and the two gardens that flank it, the executive councilor from Olhão is already thinking about the areas bordering this artery.
It is in this context that the project for the requalification of 16 de Junho street emerges. «The intervention area of this project goes from the end of the 5th of October [Naval Group of Olhão] to the roundabout [in the area of the former Bela Olhão factory]. The idea is to bring into the city a space that is currently restricted to port activity and transform it into a riverside area for public enjoyment, even giving it a differentiated use, with the creation of more mooring points for pleasure boats and promoting a mixed use of this port infrastructure», he explained to Sul Informação the mayor of Olhão António Pina.
The municipality's idea is to create a new area dedicated to recreational boating, thus avoiding totally altering the current logic in front of the estuary that borders the Patrão Joaquim Lopes garden.
Also because, in António Pina's view, the area of the Fishing Port to be upgraded has the capacity to accommodate “larger vessels”, a possibility that is on the table.
Today, the entire area between Cais do T and the fruit market is intended for small fishing boats. But its removal from this location is being considered for a long time, to make room for recreational boating.
In 2015, António Pina advocated in an interview with Sul Informação, a revolution in front of the city's estuary, which the president of the municipality of Olho wanted to transform into a zone premium, dedicated to tourism. At the time, the idea was to move small-scale fishing into the port.
Now, António Pina admits that there is space for some fishermen to remain in this place. «It is not clear to us that we have to remove all the small fishing in this area, even to maintain the typicality of the riverfront. We will be able to keep small artisanal fishing where it is and create mooring points for recreation on the other side [at the Fishing Port].
António Pina even offered to endow the area dedicated to artisanal fishing with «better conditions, in conjunction with Docapesca», which oversees the area. "We have already conveyed this desire to the minister when she was here and we are available to collaborate with Docapesca, which sometimes has financial difficulties," he said.
The requalification of the Olhão riverfront will also take place west of the 5th of October, where the City Council of Olhão plans to create urban beaches, a park and a place for birdwatching, taking advantage of the old saltpans that exist there, today integrated into the Waste Water Treatment Station, which has its days numbered and will be deactivated very soon.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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