Environment minister says Côa cofferdams will be removed but budget falls short

Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho has promised that the cofferdams on the Côa river will be taken out, while warning the job will be hard and the €4 million set aside will not be enough. Speaking in parliament during budget talks, she said dynamite is ruled out in a natural area, so complex technology will be needed. The concrete structure was left behind when the 1990s dam project was halted and is blamed for harming the Côa Valley rock engravings. The Portuguese Environment Agency and Foz Côa's mayor have also called for its removal.