Inspired by similar projects in Paris and Bordeaux, the Belém parish mayor Fernando Ribeiro Rosa said it will be an area “where a person in a suit and tie or a bathing suit can be. People can come as they want.”
He stressed that the area is not meant to “rival Torel beach or Carcavelos beach.”
But at present it might take a little bit of imagination to see the Mayor’s vision; until recently the 2,800 square metre area next to the Trafaria ferry station and close to the new Coach Museum was being used as a clandestine parking spot for motor homes and for trade exhibitions.
It is currently in an overgrown state of disuse but Mayor Rosa’s vision involves a half-moon shaped stretch of sand fringed by deckchairs and sunbeds and, on a higher raised level, tables, chairs and parasols.
“And then we will maybe have one or two small fountains on a lawn area for people to cool off,” he told Lusa News Agency.
He added that it will be a very informal area that should be concessioned all year round.
The goal is for Belém’s urban beach to open this summer, but the initial design is being restructured in order to allow the space to accommodate heavier mobile framework for events during the year, and a movable bar.
The events will be held to “help defray the maintenance of the space or allow the parish to raise funds to finance other projects of a social nature” he said.
The initial budget is €50 000, but the redesigned project will increase costs.
“It will cost significantly more if we go with this [redesigned] version, which I think is preferable at this time. Even if we spend a little now, then we can quickly write off this investment “, the parish Mayor concluded.