The Portuguese Government will move forward with a special plan for the municipality of Sines, in the district of Setúbal, to address the pressure caused by 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 Operating Title for two new factories of the Alba project, by Repsol.
The plan aims to create conditions for access to housing, schools, health centers, retirement homes, nurseries, and pre-school. The official acknowledged that this measure is not common in the country, but highlighted the specificity of the territory due to high private investments, estimated at over 20 billion euros.
The mayor of Sines, Álvaro Beijinha, warned that the housing problem is "absolutely dramatic," with rents not existing for less than two thousand euros per month and properties for purchase costing more than 300 thousand euros. The mayor recalled that the municipality's population grew by more than 12% since 2021, equivalent to about two thousand people, without a corresponding growth in public services.
In addition to the public investment plan, Álvaro Beijinha also advocated for the revision of the Local Finance Law and the signing of local contracts with companies investing in the territory. The mayor warned that municipalities are not sufficiently benefiting from the gains of large investments, with Sines receiving less than one million euros in surcharge tax revenue in 2024, in a municipal budget of 41.5 million euros.
