It had everything to be a successful venture, in an area of the country that is not exactly a summer destination, especially for those who love beaches and water.. Despite significant investments, perhaps one of the largest in recent years in the Viseu region, the Marjim Water Park has not yet opened. No one knows when that will be.
The slides, in all shapes and colors, are still there, but they never served their original purpose. The complex “With So Much Potential” seems to have been abandoned to the mercy of time and the elements.
At least, that's what yellow The jackets when they visited the park in 2019. The photos they took at the time became popular again on social media when they were reposted on February 15.
With yellow coats and their faces covered, the married couple Ivy and Athon (the names they have adopted to preserve their anonymity), bring abandoned places to life through their magnificent photographs in places that were once luxurious and, in the meantime, have fallen into oblivion. – Such as the water park built on the shore of the Marjam River.
“The project of the complex was presented in mid-2008. The space was supposed to be opened in 2015, but the works, which progressed quickly, ended up stalling. “The park has not been opened yet,” they began to tell NiT.
Construction work was halted several years ago due to financing problems and irregularities in the process, and the project was never completed. The future of the complex is still unknownBut Viseu City Council has already announced that if the process does not progress, the complex will be demolished.
After all, this is a project worth more than 25 million euros, which included wave pools, a lazy river, speed slides, individual and family slides, inflatables, a children's pool, aquariums, a spa, a restaurant, a nightclub, a bowling alley, and others. . “At some point, it was planned to create an indoor water park, with heated pools, that would operate all year round,” the couple explains.
When the Yellow Vests visited the site for the first time, they realized that to reach the complex, they would have to cross a wooden bridge and then a concrete bridge. “These bridges crossed the river, which made the place more interesting and different from the norm,” they admit.
The second (and last) time, in 2019, the scenario was different. aThe bridges, which were in good condition on the previous visit, were damaged by winter rains. “The river waters have already submerged the structure, completely destroying the wooden bridge, and the interior of the complex is filled with mud with some damage,” they say.
However, they were impressed by the scale of the “megalomaniac project.” When the work stopped, the “ready-to-use” slides had already been installed, in addition to many games in the area designated for children. This is the case of the “giant shark and the anemone”.
“The slices were of different colors, and inside some of them there were bright colors, in the form of circles, that reflected sunlight. The feeling of going through these huge tubes was incredible. The space inside was huge, and we could walk while standing.” They explored all the spaces, disbelieving all the potential that was never used.
The future of the garden
About a year ago, the Viseu City Council gave the water park's owner and promoter until the end of 2024 to decide whether or not to complete the work, which was already nearly 10 years late. “The intention was always, and remains, to complete the project that was properly planned and supported,” explained City Mayor Fernando Ruas.
But with business halted for years due to “legal proceedings,” the municipality provided the company with an end date. If progress is not made, the structure will have to be dismantled or demolished, to avoid it becoming “a kind of Chernobyl.”
“The municipality intends for the process to be completed and for the infrastructure to be designated for use in the area. However, if the business does not continue, the owner will have to dismantle it.”
Construction of the “Innovative Water Park on the Iberian Peninsula” began in 2010, the year the contract was signed. In the first phase, a support building will be constructed that will include saunas, a restaurant, a bowling alley and other facilities. For the second phase, a mill road along the river, a campsite, a small adventure park, and even a hotel are planned. Businessman Manuel Cruz, the promoter and owner of the property at the time, explained that the latter ceased to be a mere hypothesis soon after, due to the lack of bank credit.
He explained: “Given the impossibility of implementing the project, we decided to return it at lower costs, remove the hotel from the complex, and leave only the water park.” By removing the hotel unit, the total costs of the project decreased to 16.5 million euros.
It is clear that there is still a desire on the part of the project promoters to move forward with the work. “We would like to visit this space again in the future, but this time it is operational,” the Yellow Vests concluded.
Click through the gallery to see some photos of the complex that the couple shared on social media.
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