The Santa Cruz City Council, in reaction to the suspension of the Portinho project, “is surprised by the decision taken by the Regional Directorate for the Environment and the Sea”.
In a statement, the municipality explains the “strangeness” by recalling that the project for a hotel unit planned for that location has had a “construction license since 2013, granted when the PSD was still in power in the municipality, and renewed in 2024, already under the JPP administration”.
“In addition to having the approval of these two political forces, the Portinho project involved the partial suspension of the PDM, approved by the Regional Government, precisely to allow the project to move forward,” he maintains.
President Élia Ascensão reinforces that the environmental authority’s decision “may only be explained in an election context, in which it has become common for government agencies to be used as a political weapon.”
“This is because the earthmoving and vegetation clearing that is taking place on site is taking place in rural buildings covered by the tourist development’s construction license, as provided for in Permit 59/2013,” he explains.
The mayor emphasizes that “if the construction license for the tourist development is valid, the earthworks are understood as earthworks provided for in the approved project and as such do not require any other license or administrative authorization.”
“It should be noted that this project, in addition to being an important investment for the municipality, also entails the creation of a public access area, specifically the extension of the Feis Magos promenade, the construction of bathing facilities, and approximately 250 parking spaces. In other words, it will restore and refurbish an access point that was previously inaccessible and unusable,” he emphasizes.
In conclusion, he says that “the schizophrenic nature of, on the one hand, accusing the municipality of being idle and, on the other, making projects that have been approved, have licenses and will boost the economy and create new areas of enjoyment for the population, is incomprehensible.”