The Portuguese Government is to move forward with a special plan for the municipality of Sines, in the district of Setúbal, to respond to the pressure caused by the concentration of industrial investments in the region. The announcement was made by the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, during the ceremony for the delivery of the Digital Exploration Title for the two new factories of the Alba project, by Repsol.
The plan will cover areas such as housing, education and health, with the objective of creating conditions for access to housing, schools, health centres, nursing homes and nurseries. The government official acknowledged the "specificity" of the territory and stated that he is working with the municipal council to prepare a public investment plan, noting that this measure "is not standard across the country".
The mayor of Sines, Álvaro Beijinha, had warned about the pressure on public services caused by private investments estimated at over 20 billion euros. The mayor considered that "the housing problem is absolutely dramatic", noting that there are no houses for rent for less than two thousand euros per month or properties for purchase for less than 300 thousand euros. The mayor also advocated for the need to revise the Local Finance Law, noting that the municipality received less than 1.5 million euros in levies last year, from a budget of 41.5 million.
The CDU mayor noted that the municipality has grown by more than 12% in population since 2021, representing approximately two thousand people, without equivalent growth in public service provision. Álvaro Beijinha also appealed to the social responsibility of companies settling in the territory and advocated for the signing of local contracts with investors.
