The Regional Government of Madeira will start next year the renaturalization of the Marina do Lugar de Baixo, which was never used, cost 120 million, and will now return the space to the population, said today the head of the island executive.
“Regarding the issue of the Lugar de Baixo Marina, next year we are going to start the renaturalization of that space and return it to the population”, said Miguel Albuquerque, at the solemn session of the Ponta do Sol Council Day, on the west side of the island. .
“And, upstream, we are going to recover the Floriculture Center of Madeira, which is a beautiful space, connected to the Banana Interpretation Center, and create a fabulous tourist route in that area”, he added.
The President of the Regional Government (PSD) has already said in June that he was studying a solution for the site, without giving further details.
The well-known Lugar de Baixo Marina was one of the works inaugurated by the then President of the Government of Madeira, Alberto João Jardim, in the 2004 regional legislative campaign, with an initial cost estimated at 29.7 million euros, but after successive repairs , due to the damage caused by various storms, the cost will have risen, according to some, to 100 million.
The project conceived for 297 vessels, between eight and 25 meters, even included a public tender for the sub-concession of adjacent land for the construction of a real estate complex by Grupo Pestana and provided for a sub-concession of the management of the maritime domain of the marina for a period of 75 years.
In today’s session, in response to the various criticisms and requests made by the mayor of Ponta do Sol, Célia Pessegueiro (PS), Miguel Albuquerque expressed his willingness to rehabilitate the Estrada dos Anjos, a place known for a waterfall that is often used to promote Madeira tourism.
Célia Pessegueiro pointed out that this is a dangerous road due to falling rocks and landslides that have frequently occurred, not just residents and farmers, as the serving waterfall is visited by tourists every day.
In response, Miguel Albuquerque urged the mayor to prepare “a containment project, without jeopardizing the natural beauty of that area, in order to guarantee the minimum safety of the road”.
“Obviously I am here and I will certainly sign a program contract with you for the recovery of that beautiful and attractive area”, assured the president of the Regional Government, who usually does not participate in these sessions in municipalities where the PSD does not government .
In her speech, the mayor of Ponta Solense listed a set of “pending matters” with the Regional Government, having addressed the issue of housing, the safety of some roads and defended that European funds should cover the entire region.
Miguel Albuquerque, in turn, sought to highlight the investments that his executive made in recent years in that municipality, namely in the Madalena do Mar stream and in the restoration of the Ponta do Sol Pier.
At the formal session, the representative for the Republic, Ireneu Barreto, the vice-president of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, Rubina Leal, as well as the president of the Municipal Assembly of Ponta do Sol and other mayors also spoke.