Faro’s long-awaited Parque Ribeirinho leisure park – promised to “redefine the town’s connection to the Ria Formosa estuary” – could finally open in September.
Faro mayor Rogério Bacalhau has told Lusa news agency that construction of the €3.5 million park – located between the municipal theatre and Montenegro – is nearly complete, with only a few final inspections needed before it can open.
The council is also trying to purchase a private stretch of land to connect the park to the Montenegro road, said the mayor.
Official inauguration has thus been set for September 7 – the day Faro celebrates its Dia da Cidade (City Day).
The park, universally seen as “the leisure park Faro deserves and has needed for years” – will feature various squares, a 250-place open-air theatre, walkways, cycling paths, observatories for bird-watching and a maintenance department.
It was first mooted 20 years ago and some construction even got underway, but the project fell foul of local politics and was left to abandon.
It was picked up again in 2012, with the launch of a public tender.
Sociedade Polis Ria Formosa won the contract and began construction in February 2013.
Parque Ribeirinho will be Faro’s second leisure park, alongside Alameda João de Deus – built over 100 years ago in the town centre.
