Natural gas will be avaliable in Portimão and Alvor before next summer, according to Mediagás, the distributors for the Algarve region. The promise was made during a public presentation of the project for connecting Portimão to mains gas last week. Mediagás also revealed that it has already gained clients in the area, such as the Pestana Group and Portimão Hospital.
Local authorities started to prepare for the project more than a year ago, launching public tenders and market studies. Construction work on the gas distribution network started on November 15 and Mediagás says that the network will cover a 30-kilometre radius on completion.
Natural gas is already used in parts of Spain and in the Portuguese cities of Chaves, Bragança, Olhão, Évora and Vila Real. The Secretary of State for Economic Development was in Portimão for the presentation and emphasised its advantages – easy accessibility, low costs and environmental safety.
The President of Portimão Câmara also hailed the success of the project. “This form of energy is secure, economical and environmentally friendly,” said Manuel da Luz. He added that Mediagás was committed to ensuring that the work did not coincide with the summer tourist rush and revealed that he has appointed a team of technicians from the câmara to oversee the progress.
Also present at the meeting was Faro Câmara President, José Vitorino, who said he hoped that his region would soon be linked to mains gas too. Mediagás has already suggested the possibility of constructing the network under a new cycle path that is going to cover the whole of the Algarve and connect Faro with Olhão. “If everything goes according to plan, we expect that there will be natural gas in Faro by next summer,” confirmed a company spokesperson.
