Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 31st August 2022
by Mike Evans
Welcome to the last report for the month of August. With the summer nearing its end and the temperature’s starting to drop a little we must all keep our guards up against the chance of a rural fire. In addition we are still seeing more instances of people getting into difficulty whilst swimming and as the air temperature drops so will the sea temperature so it is vital that people are aware of these issues as we go into Autumn.
Here are some stories from across the Algarve which we hope you will find of interest.
More Policing On the Streets is a Wish of Mayor of Vila Real de San Antonio
Álvaro Araújo, Mayor of Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA) called on Isabel Oneto, Secretary of State for Internal Administration, to reinforce the policing of the city’s streets. At a conference which the official attended, the mayor announced “the proximity” of the inauguration of the new PSP squadron – an “important and necessary” work, scheduled for October.
The mayor addressed the Secretary of State during the commemorative ceremony of the 135th anniversary of the PSP’s Faro District Command, which took place at the António Aleixo Cultural Centre, in VRSA.
“It is essential to increase policing on the streets, precisely to put into practice the aspects of prevention and education for citizenship, through advice and useful information that agents provide to people. It is about promoting an inclusive attitude, which has long been advocated by agents who patrol the streets”, the mayor reiterated, before an audience with hundreds of members of the PSP and other security forces and other guests.
In response to the president’s request, Isabel Oneto announced the “soon to be” reinforcement of the means available to the police structure in the region and in the municipality in particular: “It was thanks to the programming of the infrastructure and equipment of the security forces that it was possible to program and execute the investment that we will soon inaugurate the new police station in October”, as well as vehicles, weapons and personal protection material”. The official also promised “very soon”, the arrival of new unmarked vehicles and others for the Algarve and the renovation of the Olhão and Portimão police stations.
The Vila Real Mayor recalled that the location of the new structure is justified “by the importance of its strategic location, by its adequate size and by being an emblematic building in the municipality and worthy of installing the police that watches over everyone’s safety”, he lists.
During the solemn ceremony, a cooperation protocol was also signed between the PSP, the University of the Algarve (UAlg) and the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA) for the creation of the “Algarve Destino Seguro Program”. The main purpose of the program, according to the PSP, is “to contribute to making the Algarve a safe destination to live, work, study or visit throughout the year”. Representing UAlg was Paulo Águas, dean of the higher education institution and João Fernandes, president of RTA.
Albufeira Mayor Asks citizens to Use Water Sparingly
The mayor of Albufeira, José Carlos Rolo, asks the population to use water in a “conscious and parsimonious” way, avoiding waste and remembering that “small gestures” can “save several litres of water per minute”.
“There are small gestures that can make a difference and that allow you to save several litres of water per minute, namely in the use of the kitchen, bathroom, laundry, garden, swimming pools and vegetable gardens”, emphasises José Carlos Rolo quoted in a press release.
The mayor also asks citizens to “whenever they observe” a water rupture in the public network, in landmarks and fire hydrants, safety taps next to metres, misdirected or damaged irrigation sprinklers and improper connections to the supply system. the public should inform municipal services.
The Mayor’s statement then lists a series of measures that this Algarve municipality has been adopting with a view to reducing consumption of water from the public network at a time when the situation of severe drought is ravaging the country and the region.
Among the main measures adopted is the closure of municipal swimming pools during the months of August and September, the closure of ornamental fountains, the use of wastewater for irrigation of public spaces, with irrigation being carried out preferably at night.
Other measures applied range from the implementation of the drip irrigation system, the suspension of irrigation in some sectors of the green spaces, mainly in grass areas, the installation of pressure gauges for monitoring purposes and the reduction of irrigation time in approximately 30% for most locations.
Most of these measures to combat drought in the region have been approved since the beginning of the year at the level of the Algarve Intermunicipal Community.
New Technology Centre Opens Near Portimao
The municipality of Portimão will have a new technological centre dedicated to renewable energies, next to the Algarve International Circuit, under an investment of 7.2 million euros. The opening took place on the 26th of August.
The project presented on Friday, developed by the Associação Parque Tecnológico do Algarve (Celerator), aims to install five high and medium-high technology companies and knowledge-intensive services in that infrastructure by 2024.
In the presentation of the project, the administrator of Parkalgar, which together with the University of the Algarve (UAlg) forms the Celerator association, said that the project will make the “future paths for mobility and sustainability pass through Portimão”.
According to Paulo Pinheiro, the new infrastructure will help the Algarve gain “competitiveness in the area of engineering and new technologies”, at the same time as it will outline “new paths for mobility and sustainability.
Paulo Águas, rector of UAlg, defended that the creation of the new hub “is part of the university’s mission”, an institution that “only benefits from a region that has “a more diversified economy and can generate more qualified work”.
Also present at the ceremony, the chairman of the Committee for Coordination and Regional Development ( CCDR ) of the Algarve, José Apolinário, praised the fact that the new innovation hub is located in a low-density area, in the interior of the municipality of Portimão.
The new Technological Pole in the Transport, Mobility and Energy Solutions sector will be dedicated to research, development and implementation of energy solutions based on green hydrogen and synthetic fuels. Among the objectives of the project is the creation of a technological hub with the construction of facilities, including laboratories and test centres, with the provision of test bench facilities for internal combustion engines with and without hybrid energy systems.
At the same time, it is planned to install modules to investigate the process of creating and implementing fuel cells in conventional means of transport, as well as installing units for recycling, with maximised reuse of end-of-life electrical batteries.
The project also includes the installation of a research and development unit with a component that compares with a conventional unit, for “Otto” Thermal Engines, using synthetic fuels, for diversified uses. In her speech, the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, underlined that this is the only technological centre in the country where there is a “living laboratory”, which brings together a track for motor racing and a laboratory in the transport, mobility and energy solutions.
“In this technological hub we already have the last phase of many projects, here we already have the economic activity and future partners that will benefit from the innovation and new solutions of this technological hub”, she stressed.
Albufeira, One of the Municipalities with the Highest Number of Temporary Protections Granted
Portugal has already granted more than 50,000 temporary protections to people who fled the war in Ukraine, of which 27% covered minors, the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) revealed this week.
According to a note released by the SEF, so far 50,632 temporary protections have been granted to Ukrainian citizens and foreigners residing in that country, divided between 30,309 women and 20,323 men.The municipalities with the highest number of temporary protections awarded continue to be Lisbon (10,763), Cascais (3,020), Porto (2,450), Sintra (1,733) and Albufeira (1,264).
The SEF also highlights the issue of 42,333 residence authorization certificates under the temporary protection regime. These certificates, issued after the National Health Service, Social Security and Tax Authority have assigned the respective numbers, are necessary for refugees to start working and be able to access support.
The request for temporary protection to Portugal can be made through the ‘online’ platform created by the SEF, available in three languages; it is not necessary for adults to use the counters of this security service. However, in the case of minors, it is mandatory to go to a SEF branch to confirm their identity and affiliation.
Portuguese Man arrested in Spain extradited to Portugal arrives In Faro
On Monday, August 29, the Spanish authorities handed over to the Judiciary Police ( PJ ) the Portuguese citizen, Sidney Martins, the subject of a European arrest warrant suspected of several homicides and armed robberies, said the PJ in a statement.
“At the land border, a 42-year-old man was handed over to the Judiciary Police, under arrest, by the Spanish authorities, within the scope of the fulfilment of a European arrest warrant issued by the Faro Prosecutor’s Office, indicted for carrying out several armed robberies, during occurred in the month of July, in the Algarve region”, reads a note published on the official PJ page.
Sidney Martins is one of the Portuguese assailant couple, arrested in Spain, on August 13, in the city of Zamora.
The 42-year-old man and his partner Nélida Guerreiro, 40, known as the Portuguese ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, are the subject of three investigations in Portugal, being suspected of a triple homicide in Bragança and armed robberies in Fundão and Algarve, in addition to the robberies that are suspected of committing in Spain.
The Portuguese duo is also suspected of several armed robberies at petrol stations in the Algarve, from where they went to Spain and committed several other robberies, namely in Seville, Toledo and Badajoz, using the same ‘modus operandi’ of intimidation with a firearm and a knife.
The arrest warrants issued by the Court of Faro do not cover the couple’s suspicions of a triple homicide in Bragança – still under investigation by the Portuguese authorities -being limited only to crimes linked to robberies in Portugal and Spain.
Martins will be presented to the national judicial authorities, in the district of Faro, within the legally established deadlines”.
Spanish Man Treated For Hypothermia at Portimao
Finally to reiterate our introduction, A 44-year-old Spanish man was assisted on Sunday, August 28, at Praia do Alemão in Portimão , for showing signs of hypothermia after getting out of the water, announced the National Maritime Authority.
The alert was received at 17:53 by the lifeguards who were on duty and elements of the SeaWatch and INEM project were activated for the site.
The victim began to feel cold in the body after getting out of the water and removing the wetsuit, having asked the lifeguards and a doctor who was on site for support, who found that the body temperature was below the reference parameters.
The elements of the SeaWatch project, on site, provided support to the victim using a thermal blanket and the administration of oxygen until the arrival of INEM.
The victim was later taken from the beach using the Amarok vehicle to an ambulance, after which she was transported to a hospital.