Development described as important to the “economic and touristic development of São Brás de Alportel
São Brás de Alportel in the inland central Algarve has given the greenlight to a major €50 million project to build a massive tourist development with a capacity for 909 people.
The project, which includes the construction of a hotel, aparthotel, villas, green spaces and agricultural fields, marks the largest development license ever granted in the area, paving the way for the Herdade do Monte da Ribeira – Pêro de Amigos development.
It will be built on a 200-hectare estate located at the foothills of the Caldeirão mountains and along the banks of the Alportel stream, just four kilometres away from the town of São Brás de Alportel. The development will occupy 50 hectares of the state and will have a 31,500 square metre build area. With a capacity to accommodate 909 people per day, the development will enter the top 10 largest developments of this kind in the Algarve, the municipal council of São Brás de Alportel says in a statement to the press.
The project is described as important to the “economic and touristic development of São Brás de Alportel,” particularly its scenic mountain region. Knowing that the announcement of yet another major tourist development in the Algarve is certain to be met with at least some scepticism, the local council highlights that the project was designed with the environment in mind, including in terms of how it will be built, and which materials will be used, as well as in terms of “water, energy and waste management efficiency, habitat revitalisation and recovery and promotion of natural heritage.”
The project’s Urbanisation Plan was originally conceived in 2008, gaining formal recognition as a project of Municipal Public Interest in 2020. Extensive environmental impact assessments have demonstrated “overwhelmingly positive” outcomes, leading to its endorsement by the Algarve’s Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) as a “vital project for the region and a foundation for territorial cohesion.”
Local mayor Vítor Guerreiro has also explained the municipal council’s “unequivocal support” of the project, stating that it is in line with its efforts to “attract new investments to the municipality that signify and value its landscape.”
Developer ‘Pero de Amigos’ will begin its €50 million investment in the borough by “creating infrastructures and improving local access” to the area, where its tourist development will try to provide “quality tourism” whilst respecting “nature, native resources and local identity” – three aspects which it believes set São Brás apart and will help provide “authentic experiences.”
No timeline for the start and end of construction has been provided so far.
