Starting price of houses at Muda resort €1.3 million
PJ judicial police are to investigate possible signs of foul play in the fire that broke out in the early hours of this morning at a chic rural tourist resort in the village of Muda, south of Comporta, which affected four houses without causing any casualties.
Contacted by Lusa news agency, an official source for the PJ said that inspectors had been called to the scene to assess the scenario of the fire, which completely destroyed three houses and caused damage to a fourth.
Houses in the resort have a starting price, reportedly, of €1.3 million.
“We’re going to assess the scene to try and see if there are any signs of foul play,” said the source.
The fire occurred just after 4am.
In a statement sent to Lusa, Vanguard Properties, which is developing the resort, said it was “surprised this morning by a fire at the construction site underway in Muda”, in the União de Freguesias de Grândola e Santa Margarida da Serra.
The company admitted there are “suspicions” that the fire had a “criminal origin”.
“The PJ and the national guard (GNR) were at the scene and are currently investigating the causes.”
The company is “providing full co-operation to the police authorities,” it added.
Vanguard is a company connected to Claude Berda, one of France’s richest men, who started investing heavily in Portugal in 2017.
Last year when building began at the Muda project, Idealista real estate portal said there were 3,200 people “of various nationalities” interested in purchasing one of the 175 houses.
Demand exceeds supply in this case by a factor of 18, said the site, which referred to the various different sized houses starting at a purchase price of €1.3 million.
According to a source from the Alentejo Coastal Sub-Regional Command, the alert was received by local firefighters at 04:14, and by 07:08 the fire had been extinguished.
The Muda Reserve resort involves an investment of around €200 million, says Lusa.
The project envisages the construction of 175 villas of different types, with service, commercial and sports areas.
The first stone of this investment was laid in 2017, at a ceremony presided over by the mayor of Grândola, António Figueira Mendes. ND
Source material: LUSA
