"The Government, through the governing areas of environment and climate action, infrastructure and territorial cohesion, recognised the relevant public interest (RIP) of the construction of the Cachopo heliport, requested by the Municipality of Tavira," CCDR said in a statement.

The same source clarified that "the heliport of Cachopo aims at the requalification of the landing strip heliport already existing at the entrance of the village of Cachopo", in the mountain parish of the municipality of Tavira which is located about 40 kilometres from the headquarters of the municipality, in the district of Faro.

The intervention will also allow the "delimitation of a network safety area", the "relocation of the fuel tank" and the "construction of a building to support the runway and the operational ones that remain there at the time of fires and other purposes of relief and civil protection", said the CCDR.

A hangar will also be built, water distribution and wastewater drainage networks expanded, and the access route to the site was paved, he added.

"The project was awarded by the municipality of Tavira to Teixeira, Pinto & Soares, S.A. for 2,371,948.63 euros and has an execution period of 180 days," CCDR quantified.

Cachopo Air Resources Center is part of the cross-border cooperation project - Iberian Center for Research and Fight against Forest Fires, 75% funded by the Interreg Spain-Portugal Program (POCTEP), he stressed.

The same source recalled that the heliport of Cachopo ensures, along with those of Monchique and Loulé, "the coverage of the territory of the Algarve with infrastructures for prevention, detection and fight of forest fires, seismic events and other occurrences, allowing a faster and more effective intervention of people and means".

In this way, the region is better prepared to make the "preservation and valorisation of environmental heritage" and has an "alternative centre of regional operational means", he explained.