The largest operation is planned for the Quarteira – Garrão (Loulé) section, with an investment of €14.3 million, which consists of artificially placing sand in the area, covering a length of 6.6 kilometres, combining sand replacement with cliff protection.

“This is the area of ​​the Algarve [Quarteira] that suffers the most erosion – we had a major problem this year, in March – and every 10 years we need interventions of this kind. It is now time to carry out this intervention again, because if we don’t do it, the beaches will shrink”, said Maria da Graça Carvalho.

Maria da Graça Carvalho was speaking to journalists after a visit to the beaches of Forte Novo, in Quarteira, and Garrão, both in the municipality of Loulé, the former having been left without sand during a storm at the end of March, which also destroyed the accesses to the beach. The intervention on the stretch between the beaches of Vau and Três Castelos (Portimão) - covering 1.5 kilometres and with an estimated cost of 2.4 million euros - aims to use the excess sand accumulated over the last few decades at Praia da Rocha, to compensate for the erosion seen on the neighbouring beaches. According to the minister, the intervention in Quarteira may take longer, due to the fact that it requires an international tender, given the value of the project, with the expected deadline for the work being eight months and, in Portimão, seven.

These interventions are part of a total investment of 140 million euros for the protection of the coastline, as foreseen in the Sustainable 2030 Program.