ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS have been included in discussions about the proposed development of a new Marina in Ferragudo in an attempt to speed up the environmental impact study and thereby get construction permission from the Ministry of the Environment as soon as possible.
It is expected that if there are no major objections by environmental groups, that the fifth tourist marina to be built in the Algarve will begin construction in October 2008.
The marina will have 319 moorings, 104 of which will be suitable for boats more than 12 metres in length, all in a 50,000 square metre area.
Environmentalists are concerned that the construction of the marina will result in the loss of aquatic and coastal habitats and that these effects are expected to have an impact on the area for up to 20 years.
The dredging of the waterways is expected to have the biggest impact on the area.
The total area to be affected by the development of the marina in Ferragudo is 18.2 hectares. Plans for the area include a four or five star hotel with 270 beds, 135 tourist apartments, 50 luxury homes and a commercial area with 15 shops and restaurants. The estimated investment is expected to be 57 million euros.
It has been recommended that there should be special care taken when doing the development and that there should be an archaeologist present to prevent any potential finds being destroyed by construction work, with particular care being taken to preserve underwater artefacts.
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