The proposal, made under the updated Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which was in public consultation, would benefit, above all, water management, with 90 million euros, and the requalification of cultural heritage, with 35.4 million, said the president of the CCDR of the Algarve, José Apolinário.

"The update of the PRR should be complemented with the reinforcement of the allocation, estimated at 164.4 million euros, of projects to be executed in the Algarve region, in line with the objective of diversifying the regional economic base," the CCDR said in a statement.

The same source stressed that the proposals are "in line with the Regional Development Strategy - Algarve 2030" and will also minimise the impact of the covid-19 pandemic and "accelerate the resolution of structural problems".

Speaking to Lusa, José Apolinário pointed out that the proposed reinforcement of 90 million euros for the Algarve Water Efficiency Plan joins the 200 million initially allocated by the PRR to this matter, of which 164 million are already approved.

The official stressed that out of these 90 million euros of reinforcement for water management, 21 million will be applied to "increase the available capacity and resilience of existing reservoirs and high adduction systems", while the other 69 million will allow a reduction of "water losses in the urban sector".

"In this way, the measures to be implemented will contribute to strengthen the reduction of real losses and, consequently, increase the potential for reducing consumption, through the reinforcement of the requalification of infrastructures of the systems in low and the implementation of monitoring and control zones in the systems", justified the CCDR in the statement.

"It is also worth mentioning the requalification of cultural heritage, in the proposed amount of 35.4 million euros, according to a survey carried out by the governance area of Culture," said the CDDR.

José Apolinário clarified that, of the total amount of 140 million that the PRR initially planned for the whole country, only one million was destined for the Algarve.

The proposed budget for Culture of 35.4 million would allow "greater decentralization" of investments in this area and make urgent investments in the monuments and sites of the Algarve identified by the Regional Directorate of Culture of the region.

The CCDR also indicated that the proposal foresees investments in the components of housing (adequacy of the student accommodation response), investment and innovation (Blue hub of the Algarve and decarbonisation) and skills and competences (construction of new infrastructures and rehabilitation and expansion of schools of the 2nd and 3rd cycles and secondary schools).

The infrastructures, namely the Business Reception Area of Lagos, the Alcoutim – Sanlúcar de Guadiana bridge, the North to Olhão bypass and now, also, the requalification of the National Road 2 between Faro and São Brás de Alportel, and sustainable mobility (renewal of the South line, in the section between Torre Vã and Tunes) were also included.

The same source pointed out that this proposal was made with the collaboration of the municipalities through the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve (AMAL), the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), the company Águas do Algarve, the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DGADR), the Regional Directorate for Agriculture and Fisheries (DRAP), Tourism and economic agents.