Posted on April 20, 2026
The deadline set was the end of May, but Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho revealed this Saturday, April 18th, that the artificial nourishment intervention on the coastal stretch between Quarteira and Garrão could be completed by the second week of that month.
After observing the work on the dredger operating in this coastal area of the municipality of Loulé, the minister assured that “the work is going very well”.
“It’s supposed to finish at the end of May, but if there are no weather problems, no storms, which I hope there won’t be, they might be able to bring it forward a few weeks and have everything completed by mid-May,” he told reporters early Saturday afternoon.
Maria da Graça Carvalho reiterated that this is “an essential project to protect these beaches and the entire area from coastal erosion,” in addition to having an environmental, economic, and social objective.
“Economically, because these beaches are extremely important for the Algarve’s economy, but also socially, because it’s a pleasure for all Algarve residents, for those who live here and those who visit, to have access to this wonderful set of beaches that we see here. These three reasons are what lead us to undertake this project,” he added.
The minister further explained that these sand injection works, which began on April 4th and have a planned investment of around 9,1 million euros, are taking place on five beaches, from Quarteira to Garrão, and that three of them have already been completed.
“In total, it’s 1,4 million cubic meters of sand; only 600 are missing, specifically in the Quarteira and Forte Novo areas. Trafal, Vale do Lobo, and Garrão are already finished,” he said.
The mayor, Telmo Pinto, who had expressed concern about the expected completion date for the sand replenishment work, is now pleased with the anticipated earlier completion date.
“They managed to shorten the construction time from the end of May to the beginning of June to the first week of May, and therefore, when the bathing season begins, we will have these beaches with the size we are used to, something that greatly impacts our economy,” he stressed. Sul Informação the mayor of Loulé.
Another action planned to prevent coastal erosion in this area is the intervention on the Quarteira breakwaters, which should begin next year.
