The Ribeira Grande (Santo Antão) municipal chamber has presented a preliminary project for the Detailed Urban and Environmental Plan for the Town of Ribeira Grande, which is aimed at recovering the town’s status as the economic center of the island of Santo Antão.

Municipal chamber president Orlando Delgado publicly presented the preliminary project Saturday, affirming that the town of Ribeira Grande (popularly known as Povoação) should be seen by all as one of the most “emblematic” on the island and in the country as a whole, due to the history of its settlement and the role it played in the development of Santo Antão.

The proposed plan encompasses four sectors: the environment, the economy, society and culture. The municipal chamber hopes to begin by structuring the plan so as to preserve the town’s historical architecture and to conquer space for the improvement of infrastructures in all domains.

António Jorge Delgado, the architect who elaborated the preliminary project for the environmental sector with the assistance of his brother, Orlando de Jesus Delgado, said that he carried out a detailed analysis of various aspects of the town’s history: its location, its settlement and its economic, social and cultural dynamics. “All so that I could come as close as possible to the concrete reality of the town, as a way of avoiding possible atrophies in the future materialization of the project,” affirmed the architect.

The plan, in addition to calling for the diversion of the flow of rainwater (the town is located at the mouth of two large valleys), also includes the construction of roads, tourism-related real estate, sports and cultural complexes, green areas aimed at environmental equilibrium and leisure, artificial waterfalls and ponds and other education, industrial and commercial infrastructures.

Some of the participants in the event told A Semana Online that they considered the plan a “good idea.” “The elaboration and presentation of the project, even without the participation of the population, is in itself a step in the right direction. But we have our doubts regarding its effectiveness and materialization. The municipality has never had a municipal development plan. Why only now, after 16 years of governance in the municipal chamber, have they presented a preliminary project for an urban plan for the town of Ribeira Grande, without a budget, without sources of financing and without a timeline for the beginning and conclusion of work?” questioned one of those interviewed by A Semana Online.

Source: A Semana