Socialist Party MPs question the Government about the lack of a multi-annual dredging plan in the Algarve

The Socialist Party deputies elected for the Faro district, Luís Graça and Jorge Botelho, questioned the Government about the non-implementation of the Multi-Year Dredging Plan, foreseen for the Algarve in the 2024 State Budget, which requires the necessary maintenance of the bars and navigation channels in the region, as is the case in the ports in the North of the country.

In a question addressed to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Socialist parliamentarians emphasized that sea and artisanal fishing continues to be one of the "most traditional" economic activities for affirming and promoting the Algarve, noting that this activity is "one of the most traditional branches of the economy of our Algarve sea," with 2,268 registered fishermen and a total of 878 licensed vessels in 2022. For this activity, "ensuring safety conditions in the bars and navigation channels is a crucial aspect."

To this end, in areas of strong coastal erosion such as the Algarve and in areas of intense sediment accumulation, such as the Ria Formosa and the Ria de Alvor, "regular dredging is the only way to keep navigable channels, ports and coastal areas accessible for maritime activities and beaches and bathing areas with enough sand for all those who seek the south of the country for holidays and leisure."

"For these reasons, the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party, in particular the deputies elected by the Faro district, have been defending the need for the government to include, at the level of the State Budget, a multi-annual dredging plan that guarantees the need to maintain the bars and navigation channels in the region," recalls the question to the Government, also signed by the PS deputies in the Environment and Energy Committee.

The Algarve socialists also noted that "this ambition was transposed by the Socialist Party government into the 2024 State Budget Law, which provides for the implementation of a Multi-Year Dredging Plan for the Algarve 2024-2026, with a global investment of around 8.5 million euros."

Despite being included in the State Budget since 2024, and the “undisputed importance of dredging for the maritime economy”, it is emphasized that “none of the instructions provided by the DGRM were carried out”.

Having been announced at the beginning of July that a set of dredging operations in ports in the north of the country worth 6.4 million euros had been awarded, the Socialist Party parliamentarians denounced that "nothing is known about the execution of what was planned for the Algarve, where several bars have been recorded with heavy silting, putting navigation, the safety of people and economic activities at risk."

Luís Graça and Jorge Botelho therefore want to know "the reason why the Multi-Year Dredging Plan is not being implemented in the Algarve", as well as when the Government expects to award the planned dredging works, "an example of what it did for the ports in the North of the country".