From cod to tourism is a leap. Riberalves hopes to open a project in Alcochete in 2029 – News – SAPO.pt

It has been a “long and complex process” that has taken 20 years and has had to be adapted to the legitimate interests of the different entities defending the region, the environment and local development. But finally, the first tourism project in Ribeiralves seems ready to move forward. As is known, this 100% Portuguese family group has introduced cod to our tables since 1985 and owns the largest factory in the world in the sector, producing 30,000 tons of cod per year (between 8 and 10% of the total fish supply) It has already expanded into coffee (NovoDia, since 1998), wine (with Adega Mãe, since 2010) and real estate, and is now entering tourism for the first time.

The cultivated area has been reduced to about 16,500 square meters, with a capacity of 936 beds (originally planned to be closer to 1,000), located in the remains of buildings used to dry cod, without new construction, in the Praia dos Moinhos complex. Alcochete is open to public consultation until Wednesday. If everything goes as expected, within a week the project (an investment of “between 100 and 120 million euros”) will be able to move forward.

“The priority now is licensing”, Bernardo Alves, manager of the group, which generates more than 200 million euros in revenues and a third from exports, told SAPO and confirmed that, between the development of the detailed construction project and other procedures after public consultation, this work should start within a year. “After that, it will take about four years to complete the project and we hope to open it in 2029”, he predicted in an interview with SAPO, noting that “the investment of 100 to 120 million dollars will have to be done through partnerships and the use of some external capital (funds, banking…) and several options are being negotiated “.

Five years seems short for someone who has waited 20 years for the promotion. But Bernardo Alves does not diminish the importance of a process that has been ongoing for two decades. “It was very important to reconcile all the wishes and all the entities were very collaborative in trying to reach a solution that would coordinate positions and form a project that best combines everyone’s interests.” Even if this meant lowering the initial ambitions of the tourist complex and changing it. “The final project is much smaller than the original one and, for example, does not provide underground parking; moreover, the implementation process fully respects the existing buildings and will be adapted through construction on stilts, which will provide greater protection for people and property “(raising the columns of the building, leaving the ground free), he explained to SAPO.

The head of the Riberalves Group said that the adapted solution would prioritize the protection of the environment (the name, for curiosity, comes from the first syllables of the names of the two sons of founder João: Ricardo and Bernardo), pointing to, for example, the protection of the salt marshes and the strengthening of measures to compensate and minimize environmental impacts, such as the construction of barriers around the salt marshes to minimize disturbances to the birds that nest and live there, as well as the regulation of traffic and the movement of people in the area.

The existing buildings were the remains of an old cod farm that Riberalves Imobiliária had bought from the States: the Sociedade Nacional de Armadores de Bacalhau in 1997 and the Sociedade Europe de Aquacultura in 2006. We had installed a new Riberalves unit there, but we ended up changing our minds, even at the hands of the municipality, which supported us in creating a tourist enterprise, even because of the projections of the PDM, which also brought development to the region”, says Bernardo Alves. This development is not limited to the dynamism of the region and the creation of a diversified product, nor even to the millions of investments that have been made.

The businessman expects that the Praia dos Moinhos tourist complex will create 150 direct jobs. It will also help provide a solution for the many tourists who will arrive once the new Lisbon airport is operational. “It is a two-way added value because it will bring us clients, but we will also help create a tourist product in a place where there are few resources.”

Bernardo Alves also told SAPO that plans are also underway to requalify one of the buildings as a museum dedicated to the site, “paying tribute to the people who passed through there and the activities carried out in the area”, while also listing the restoration of the Brito Salt Flats and Vale de Frades and the monitoring plan during the project’s execution to “evaluate the evolution of species of conservation interest”, as well as the “recovery of the dune vegetation and the eradication of invasive species”.