Coastal Restoration Project at El Saler and La Garrofera Beaches, Valencia.
Location
El Saler, Valencia
Contracting entity
Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Directorate-General for the Coast and the Sea)
Execution date
April to December 2023
Budget
Including VAT: €28,203,317.67
The project consists of the restoration of the beaches of El Saler and La Garrofera up to the Pujol Inlet (Gola de Pujol). This intervention covers approximately 7 kilometres of coastline through the placement of 2.908 million cubic metres of sand previously dredged (using a trailing suction hopper dredger) from the borrow area located off the coast of Cullera, at a depth of approximately 70 metres.
The dredger used during the Project was the HAM 318, the third largest dredger of its type in the world. The sand is dredged from the designated offshore borrow area assigned to the beach restoration project and discharged onto the dry beach through a pipeline system, before being spread and levelled using earthmoving equipment. Other major activities included in the project are the extension of the breakwaters at the Pujol Inlet, the formation and profiling of dunes, planting in the restored dune area, and the installation of sand-capture structures in the dune area.
Overall, the restoration of El Saler beaches is of high social importance because it combines three objectives:
– Improve public use of the beach.
– Protect the population and economic activities linked to the coastline.
– Preserve the Albufera and its natural environment.
Therefore, the project can be considered a territorial adaptation and protection measure with medium- and long-term social benefits undertaken by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
