The work involves an intervention spanning around 60 kilometres of the Algarve’s western coastline.

The municipality of Aljezur has begun construction of the stretch of the ecovia along the southwest Algarve coast that will link Odeceixe and Carrapateira, with a construction contract worth over 600,000 euros, the municipality announced.

The work now started will see an intervention spanning about 60 kilometres of the western Algarve coast and is expected to be completed within 240 days (eight months).

“The work on the ecovia of the southwest coast is underway in the municipality of Aljezur. The intervention started in Carrapateira and Pontal da Carrapateira area,” the Aljezur council said.

The same source said that the work aims to “improve the road layout, providing better circulation conditions for users, who will be able to visit and enjoy the territory with more safety and comfort.

The work began eight months after the Aljezur council approved the execution projects to build around 76 kilometres of cycle paths along the municipality’s coastline.

Last August, the local authority explained that the implementation project for the Cycle Paths of the Southwest Coast – Aljezur consisted of “several stretches” and would allow for the construction of a “sustainable mobility” link between Odeceixe and Carrapateira, with the work to be carried out in two phases.

The council explained on the occasion that the first phase of the work would cover a length of approximately 60 kilometres and had a budget estimate of 660,000 euros.

The same source then stressed that this part of the construction work had already been put out to international tender and had funding of around 90% from the Algarve CRESC 2020 Operational Programme and Turismo de Portugal.

“The second phase of the implementation project of the Southwest Coast Cycle Paths […], with a length of 16.837 kilometres and a budget estimate of 3,922,000 euros, plus VAT, will be left to apply for the next 2030 community framework,” the municipality clarified.

The municipality, with a PS majority, inserted this investment in its “sustainable mobility policy” for the environment and argued that the creation of this cycling infrastructure would “promote the use of soft mobility means” in the municipality, as well as “offer a tourism product”.

At the same time, the initiative will “raise awareness of the use of alternative, environmentally friendly means of transport” and encourage the “well-being and healthy development of the population”, concluded the local authority.