The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, confirmed this Sunday, on the sidelines of the centenary celebrations of Estremoz's elevation to city status, that the creation of a large business area in the Interior of Alentejo will move forward. The official stated that the project is committed to by the Executive, but the concrete location has not yet been defined and will depend on a technical study to be carried out by the Regional Coordination and Development Commission of Alentejo.
The seven municipalities of the Marble and Alqueva Region - Alandroal, Borba, Estremoz, Redondo, Reguengos de Monsaraz, Sousel and Vila Viçosa - advocate that the future business area be installed in the vicinity of Technical Station No. 2 of the Southern International Corridor, in Alandroal. However, the minister refused to comment on this proposal, emphasizing that the Government will only make decisions after the technical evaluation.
The Executive stressed the importance of the technical foundation, stating that the location choice must be based on technical criteria such as accessibility, water and energy availability, terrain stability, and orography, rather than purely political considerations. A meeting is scheduled for the following week to establish guidelines for the regional structures to identify the most suitable locations.
This project is considered strategic and a priority for the region, having resulted from a joint effort between the seven municipalities and Infraestruturas de Portugal, which also co-financed the technical and economic feasibility study. The estimated cost for the construction work ranges from 11 to 15 million euros.
