A spokesman from the Vigia Group, the administrators of the Parque da Floresta Resort, has denied it has drawn up any concrete plans for the Boca do Rio area in Budens. The denial comes after environmentalists had attacked the potential construction of a marina in that area.
Vigia administrator Custódio Coelho does not deny that a marina project would be attractive in theory because “Portugal has a dearth of marinas”. But, although he admitted that the ideal project for the area could comprise some kind of nautical infrastructure, a gold course and hotel, Coelho maintained that, “we will never make any intervention in this area that would have a lasting detrimental effect on the environment”. And he made clear that his consortium is merely “investigating the feasibility” of various ideas at present. This is also confirmed by Mark McFadden from the Vigia Group who told The Resident that “the Vigia Group owns a number of pieces of land, including land at Boca do Rio, and we are studying possibilities under the current legislation”.
Established 10 years ago in Vila do Bispo, the group, which belongs to four English families linked to the financial sector, has never stopped expanding, growing at a rate of 30 per cent every year. It is now forecast that, in another four years, the group will have accumulated around 138 million euros worth of investments, half of which are in the Algarve. One of its more recent projects is its development of beach houses at Quinta da Fortaleza, between Boca do Rio and Burgau and near the company’s flagship resort of Parque da Floresta.
