A Wavegarden Cove will be built next year in the Landes region on the French Atlantic coast, the French Surfing Federation announced on its website today. According to them, it was Mayor Philippe Mouhel who confirmed that the rumours were true, the machine capable of creating 900 waves per hour will be in his region.

The project, named Wavelandes Atlantique, will be carried out in conjunction with the French company Bouygues Group, which will be the developer of all the real estate construction for the park, which will include, in addition to the swimming pool, places for practicing skateboarding, climbing, beach volleyball and kayaking, among other things. The project will cost approximately 40 million euros.

An economic study estimated that the project will employ 300 people thanks to the attendance of some 180.000 people a year, of which 60.000 will be surfers.

They plan to begin the project in early 2019 and open the pool for the French team to train in 2020, then open it to the public in 2021.

"This surf park project is a driving force for the Landes economy, not only in terms of tourism, but also for the surfing industry," said Norbert Ducrot, president of Wavelandes.

Meanwhile, his counterpart from the French Surfing Federation, Jean-Luc Arassus, explained: "The French Federation is joining in the development of this first French artificial wave in order to optimise the development of high performance."

Finally, the current French champion, Vincent Duvignac: "The simple fact of being able to repeat manoeuvres in a specific place is a great help for an athlete who wants to develop his technique, but also his strategies in competitions."