Which Dénia beaches will be regenerated with the new sand extraction project?
The Ministry of Ecological Transition has published the Valencia Deep Water Sand Extraction Project, which will serve to recover a large part of the Dénia coastline with the regeneration of many of its beaches. The sand will come from the seabed of Cullera, being transferred to its different destinations.
The project contemplates sucking up the sediments located at a depth of more than 60 meters and transporting them to the different beaches of the Valencian Community. A plan that will have a budget of more than one billion euros and with which 12,4 million cubic meters of sand will be extracted. The estimated execution period is about 10 years, so it is a long-term project.
In Dénia, a large number of kilometers of coastline will benefit. Both Les Deveses beach, one of the most affected by the retreat of the coast, and Marineta Cassiana will be recovered. In addition, the entire northern section from the port of Dénia to the Girona river, where the Punta del Raset, Les Albaranes, Les Marines, Bovetes and Punta de Molins beaches are located.
Controversy over the severe impact and "waste of public money" of the project
The environmental sector has been clearly against this project, which they consider a "waste of public money" to try to stop an inevitable regression. "The damage has already been done," Ecologists in Action say in a statement, in which they express their concern about the impact that the project may have on the existing posidonia oceanica meadows "on the Marineta Cassiana beach in Dénia and in the stretch of coastline between the port of Dénia and the Girona river".