On June 16, 2020, the West Sea shipyard hosted the launching ceremony for the dredging contract for the access channel to the shipyard for the -6 meter quota of the hydrographic zero. The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Dr. Pedro Nuno Santos, presided over the ceremony which included the intervention of the president of APDL, Guilhermina Rego, Carlos Martins, president of Martifer and José Maria Costa, president of the Municipality of Viana do Castelo.

The project aims to improve access conditions to Cais do Bugio and the shipyards, and will stimulate industrial development, allow the entry of larger ships in the port and boost the creation of a competitive cluster in the Portuguese shipbuilding industry, increasing competitiveness of port infrastructure. The intervention will also promote the improvement of safety and navigability conditions in the Port of Viana do Castelo. The undertaking, included in the Strategy for Increasing the Competitiveness of the Mainland Commercial Ports Network – Horizonte 2026, relies on an investment by the Administration of the Ports of Douro, Leixões and Viana do Castelo (APDL) in the order of 17.4 million euros and a private investment of 15 million euros by West Sea, which will build a new dry dock in line with the Bugio wharf, taking advantage of the old ramp.