The Directorate General of Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM) signed today the 1st Dredging Multiannual Contract, 2021-2023, for the ports of Vila do Conde, Póvoa de Varzim, Esposende and Vila Praia de Ancora, representing an overall investment of 4.1 million euros, fully assumed by the State Budget.

The contract was signed by José Simão, General Director of DGRM, by Susana Baptista, Deputy General Director of the same institution, and by Eduardo Gomes, representing the company Rohde Nielsen. The document was approved by the Minister of Sea, Ricardo Serrão Santos.

The signing of this contract is especially relevant to ensure safe navigation in fishing ports and recreational boating ports, given the special need to ensure the best conditions of access to these ports, safeguarding the safety of vessels and their crews and navigation in general.

The 1st Multi-Annual Dredging Contract focused on the northern ports, due to the specific hydrodynamic characteristics of the west coast and its configuration and morphology, presenting a strong need for regular dredging to maintain its service levels.

The need for efficient management of dredging in the areas under the responsibility of DGRM, makes the signing of multi-annual contracts urgent, so that dredging operations can be carried out in the most favorable periods or whenever there is a situation of silting that impairs access to a particular port, with risk to the safety of vessels and their crews.

The signing of this contract was particularly important because it is the first one with a multi-year nature, representing a change in procedure that allows a consistent solution to the serious problem of frequent silting of these ports to be envisaged in the medium term.