The Alandroal Chamber project will be located in Azenhas d’El Rei, near the village of Montes Juntos, and the works are due to start “this week or next”, according to the municipality’s president, João Grilo.

“It is a place that, even before the filling of Alqueva reservoir, was sought out to be used as a recreational area and to which the old mills were also associated”, which are now submerged beneath the water, he said, indicating that the objective is to “maintain this environment” that has existed on the River Guadiana.

According to the mayor, the approval for the construction of the river beach has already been signed with the company that won the public tender.

“The period of execution of the work is predicted to be four months, but we are asking the construction company to try to shorten this period so that we can make the infrastructure available to people as soon as possible”, he stressed.
The Alentejo municipality aims to open the new river beach “at the beginning of August”.

João Grilo stated that the project involves an investment of €714,000, of which €300,000 are being financed by Turismo de Portugal, following the approval of an application by the municipality to the “Valorizar” programme.

The future river beach will have a 148-metre long beach, in addition to support infrastructures, such as a bar, changing rooms and bathrooms, a picnic area and further in the future an area dedicated to caravans.

This area already has “the advantage of having the river beach of Cheles practically in front of the location of the new beach, on the Spanish side, which has been in great demand and it is hoped that this will lead to interesting interactions with movement of boats between both sides,” said the mayor.

Further south, next to the village of Alqueva, a river beach will also appear this summer, with the works on this beach already underway.

The mayor of Portel, José Manuel Grilo, told Lusa that he expects that "at the beginning of the bathing season, in mid-June, if there are no limitations related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the beach will start operating fully".

“The works are practically completed. We just need to put in place the support equipment”, which is scheduled for the month of May, and then it will be “ready to be able to be opened”, said the mayor of the municipality.
Located about a kilometre and a half from the village, the future river beach involves an investment of around €400,000.

These two new river beaches in Alqueva will join the three that currently exist on the Portuguese banks of the reservoir, located in Amieira, also in the municipality of Portel, in Monsaraz, in the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, and in Mourão, in the district of Évora .