PORTUGAL IRRIGATION PLAN - REGUENGOS SUBPROJECT

Hydraulic circuit of Reguengos de Monsaraz and related irrigation block located in the Beja district

This operation is structured in two components. The first component aims at the modernisation and expansion of existing irrigated areas, as well as the strengthening the pumping capacity and integration with renewable energy generation, covering a total of approximately 10 273 hectares of arable land in the Reguengos de Monsaraz basin of the Alentejo region of mainland Portugal. The second component corresponds to the reinforcement of the syphoning capacity of the Álamos-Loureiro canal.

The project involves transformation of agricultural dryland into irrigable land, is under the provision of Annex II of the EIA Directive 2011/92 EU (as amended by 2014/52/EU), and will be subject to environmental permitting as required. The main dam serving the Alqueva irrigation system was completed in 2002 and its reservoir was full in 2012. The Integrated Environmental Impact Study, carried out in 1995 for the full Alqueva system, provides a framework for the foreseen investments in the Alentejo region. Relevant aspects of the project are related to the Water Framework Directive: expected impact of climate change on water flows in the affected river basin; ecological flows of the rivers; quality of the waters; measures to promote efficient and sustainable use of water such as implementation of water metering systems and cost-recovery water tariffs.

Contracts for the implementation of the project will be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU, and 2014/25/EU, where applicable, as well as Directive 92/13/EEC or 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU) with publication of tender notices in the Official Journal of the European Union, as and where required.

The project is part of the Portugal Irrigation Plan framework loan, partly financing the "Programa Nacional de Regadios", which aims, among others, at fostering economic development in rural areas and increasing resilience to the effects of climate change. Subprojects as Regengos target either the modernization of existing irrigation schemes with water savings or the expansion of irrigation systems taking advantage of existing primary and some secondary infrastructure.