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Algarve News: New projects to enhance Albufeira

Date: 11/9/2008

THE Albufeira Town Council have presented a series of new projects aimed at improving residents’ and tourists’ quality of life in areas such as culture, education and accesses to the city. One of the projects is the construction of a new Tourism Park in Quinta da Bolota which will include the Great Auditorium of Albufeira with a capacity for 1,000 people, the tourism museum and also a technology and tourism centre. On the culture side, the main investment which was also announced, will be the Barrocal Museum in Paderne. This project will be designed by Siza Vieira, the architect who designed the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion at London’s Kensington Gardens. The museum will exhibit many utensils which preserve the traditions and the culture associated with the traditions and the history of the Barrocal, which is the local name for the strip of land between the coastline to the south and the hills to the north. It is a typically rural area which still preserves many of the local traditions that have long been lost in the costal area resort towns. Paderne will also benefit from the reopening of the castle to the public and the refurbishment of the town’s stream, which will include footpaths. Amongst other new projects presented are new schools and day care centres for children in Albufeira, Olhos de Agua and Guia, a tourism information post and a residential home providing care for the elderly at Olhos de Agua. Environment protection projects have also been detailed in the list of improvements for Albufeira, including a new Environmental and Technological centre to be built in Paderne. The Town Council will also build a new centre to shelter abandoned pets at Escarpao, Ferreiras and three new sports pavilions. A project for a direct access route from the Via do Infante A22 motorway was also presented as very important in reducing access problems, especially during the high summer tourist season. Other projects to improve the roads in the town and plans to build two new car parks worth more than 16 million euros were also presented. The Town Council has also stressed the importance of some private investments that are being implemented too. These will be crucial for the development of local economy, especially the five new five-star hotels which are being built at Salgados, São Rafael, Albufeira and Açoteias, as well as two other hotels which are currently being upgraded to the five-star category. As soon as all these works are completed, Albufeira will have 10 five-star hotels, almost half of the top range of hotels on offer in the entire Algarve which is scheduled to rise to 23 units by 2010. Yet another structural investment in the area is the new Congress Centre with the capacity for 3,000 people, which has already been approved and will be built at the Salgados area. The bullring building is also set to go through a process of improvement works that will transform it into a multi-purpose infrastructure with capacity for 5,000 people. In the area of healthcare, new investments which have also been approved will include a new private hospital which is scheduled to open next year  in Ferreiras and the new Albufeira Private Hospital on which, building has already started. Mayor Desiderio Silva said: "Albufeira has already been placed among the best tourist destinations in the world and we are firmly committed to preserve this status. For that we have to continue to invest in new infrastructures, as well creating all the necessary conditions to attract private investment and that’s the aim of the projects that we have now presented." Source: Euroweekly news

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