Algarve Boom on Track

Many investors believed that once the new airport had been approved in Ato that there would be a property boom towards the coastline, taking away some of the regular tourist trade from the Algarve

It was however announced recently that the site of the airport will now be to the south of the Tagus River at Alcochete rather than to the north at Ato, as originally planned. As recently quoted by Forbes.com Prime Minister Socrates said that a study by the LNEC civil engineering laboratory concluded the airport could be built at Alcochete or at Ota, but that Alcochete would provide more advantages 'and beat Ota on four of the seven crucial criteria

These factors were safety, natural resource sustainability, economic and social development, and financial evaluation, he said.

Socrates denied that the selection of Alcochete was based on financial issues, noting that the cost difference between the two options was small, with total investment until 2050 at Ota estimated at 5.1 Billion EUR, compared to 4.9 Billion at Alcochete.

Some Industry association reports however have said the new airport could cost 6 Billion EUR if it is built in Alcochete compared to the 9 Billion EUR it would cost if it were built on the site in Ota.

The airport is essential for Portugal’s growth as it is estimated by Passengerterminaltoday.com that Lisbon will reach its limit of 16 million visitors a year by 2015.

It was initially announced back in November that the Portuguese government was considering changing the site of the airport. Of late we have noticed a sharp rise in the volume of enquiries we have received at Propertyshowrooms.com for Portugal. Since the confirmation of the new site at Alcochete, this rise in enquiries has furthered still with more than a two-fold increase in traffic on the Portugal property section of our site with the most part in favour of the Algarve.

Peter Mindenhall (Business and Media Manager; Propertyshowrooms.com) commented “As the new airport will be no closer to the Silver Coast than the current airport in Lisbon, it makes sense that growth will continue in the Algarve as an already proven market for tourism. The Algarve has for a long time been a favourite of investors because of the fantastic rental yields that can be achieved due to Portugal having a year round rental market. This has mainly been made up of European and American travellers coming over for Portugal’s spectacular championship golf courses and beautiful scenery.”

Another reason for the recent increase in interest in the Algarve area appears to be the opening of the Formula One race track in Portimao. The race track will be open for the Portuguese round of the Superbike world championship scheduled for November the 2^nd.

Already an established tourist area in the Algarve for its fabulous golf courses - such as Penina, often considered the Masterpiece of Sir Henry Cotton, and Morgado de Renguengo, the newest course on the Algarve - big game fishing, sailing and scuba diving, the race tack is expected to bring a further 1 million tourists a year to the Algarve according to Portugalresident.com The compound occupies an area of 300 hectares, including a racing track offering 64 variations, the longest being 4,692 metres, for Formula 1 competitions. The circuit is already approved by FIA for Formula One and by FIM for the Moto Grand Prix.