The President of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque, reaffirmed on Friday during a visit to the Palheiro Golf course, that the expansion and the Regional Government’s adherence to creating a ‘golfing island’ is part of Madeira’s positioning strategy as an international Golf destination.
With regard to the Ponta do Pargo project, the governor indicated that the process is moving forward with changes to the Municipal Master Plan of Calheta. Once the response phase to the public consultation is concluded, a tender will be launched for the exploration of the field, as well as for the sale of the areas intended for hotel and real estate investments.
As for Ribeira do Faial, preventive measures were initiated, and negotiation processes and possible expropriation of plots necessary for the implementation of the project were initiated. The design of the course and the tourist and real estate component should advance through private tenders.
According to Miguel Albuquerque, the goal is to exceed the five golf courses in the Region, creating a new tourist centrality, especially in the western zone, and reinforcing economic dynamism.
On the administrative level, the President of the Executive said that political decisions have already been taken to start negotiations and expropriation processes this year, and it is up to the heritage services to operationalise the procedures. The effective start of the works will depend, however, on the evolution of these processes, and no concrete dates have been given.
Faced with public criticism that questions the priority given to golf over needs such as housing, the head of Government maintained that this type of investment generates economic benefits, employment, and income for families, pointing to the example of Porto Santo. He added that criticism is recurrent and all in a day’s work.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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