Faro Council is concerned about the possible effects on coastal erosion in the municipality of building an artificial island off the tourist resort of Vale do Lobo. In a letter to which the Lusa agency has had access, the president of the Faro Council, José Apolinário (PS) says that the construction of the island and the access tunnel could exacerbate the coastal erosion in his municipality between Ancão and the Ilha de Faro

The municipal leader refers to a news item at the beginning of the year according to which the resort was sold to a new company in which the Caixa Geral de Depósitos bank has a 25% shareholding.

He stresses that this company expressly declared that the project to build the artificial island off Vale de Lobo would go ahead.

In the letter sent to the office of Francisco Nunes Correia, José Apolinário said he thought this declaration of intent was inappropriate as the basic studies had not yet been done which would allow this to be stated for sure.

Recalling that the construction of the groyne and the fishing harbour in Quarteira and of the Vilamoura Marina contributed almost exclusively to the erosion and the receding coastline between Quarteira and the Ria Formosa, the local leader observed that more recently there had been a second “wave” of erosion which was due to the construction of the moles in Vilamoura.

Apolinário said that, as a result of this, work replenishing the beach had to be carried out, at the expense of the state, in the area of Vale do Lobo at the end of the 1990s. He stressed that the most recent replenishing work which had been done by the resort itself, proves that the movements of sand from the west to the east were “permanent and significant”.

Saying that he was unaware of the existence of any studies in favour of the decision to build the island, the municipal president said that any doubts about the impact that the construction could have to the east from Ancão to the Ilha de Faro should be raised.

The text of the letter says that, specifically, it is regarded as pertinent to ask whether the size of the island on its own could cause a change in current and consequently have an impact on the movement of the sands.

Furthermore, he says that one of the connections to the land would be via an underwater tunnel and that there was no guarantee that this tunnel would not function as a submerged groyne, leading to the accumulation of sediment and siltation between the “island” and the coast.

The document says that the island and the tunnel would have a major impact on the stability of the sands to the east, and this could lead to an increase in erosion as the natural replacement of sediments would be interrupted or reduced, which could in turn lead to a weakening of the cordon of sand which makes up the Ancão peninsula and which stretches as far as Faro.

Reiterating his concern about the published news item, the president of the Faro Council concludes that the construction of the island and the tunnel could have a direct impact on part of the land area of his municipality.

He asks Nunes Correia to inform him if a request on the matter has been sent to the Ministry of the Environment, what stage of discussion the project has reached, what type of basic studies had been presented and what the position was of the minister himself so far.

The project for building an artificial island off the Algarve resort of Vale do Lobo represents an investment of 750 million euros which should be completed by 2020.

The island will have hotels, houses and leisure areas, in particular an underwater restaurant, and it is planned that the connection to the main square in Vale do Lobo would by cable car and through a glass tunnel built under the sea.

source: algarve observer