The medicinal cannabis project that promised to transform Beja into one of Europe's largest production centers ended in insolvency. The company Symtomax, installed at Herdade da Gravinha, never developed commercial activity, despite having announced in 2020 an investment exceeding 30 million euros over five years. The company's equipment has now been auctioned for a value below 4% of the debt that Symtomax left to the State alone.
Founded in 2017, Symtomax intended to build the largest outdoor medicinal cannabis cultivation center in Europe, covering a total area of 105 hectares, of which 95 were destined for cultivation. The project also included research and quality control laboratories, as well as processing, packaging and distribution units. The company estimated a production capacity of 700 thousand kilograms of medicinal cannabis per year.
The project had the participation of Eurico Castro Alves, former president of Infarmed and former Secretary of State for Health, who was announced as non-executive administrator in October 2019. In June 2021, the company received authorization from Infarmed to begin cultivation and develop import and export activities, having announced at the beginning of 2022 the conduct of an experimental crop. However, in April of this year, Symtomax ceased to appear on Infarmed's lists of authorized entities.
The sale took place within the insolvency proceedings no. 619/26.0T8BJA, pending at the Local Civil Court of Beja. The lot auctioned by OneFix included industrial equipment, greenhouses and climate control, ventilation and irrigation systems. The facilities were left abandoned, a far cry from the investment targets and international growth announced by the company.
