The 47 municipalities of the Alentejo allocated 163.99 million euros to the acquisition of capital goods in 2024, according to the Financial Analysis No. 1/2026 from CCDR Alentejo. This value represented 18.52% of total municipal expenditure and 79.8% of capital expenditure, with the road network becoming the main destination for investment. The category of viaducts, street works and complementary works absorbed approximately 25.8 million euros, followed by other buildings and constructions with 16.5 million, rural road transport with 12.9 million, sports and recreational facilities with 12.2 million, and schools with more than 10.4 million euros.
Investment in 2024 represented a decline compared to 2023, when the highest value of the 2021-2024 period was recorded, at 191.6 million euros. The reduction compared to the previous year was approximately 27.6 million euros. CCDR Alentejo acknowledges that this evolution may be related to the cycle of European funds, suggesting that the increase in 2023 may have reflected a concentration of financial execution of projects co-financed by Portugal 2020, while 2024 coincided with the transition to Portugal 2030.
The analysis by CCDR also identified a positive relationship between the demographic size of municipalities and the average volume of investment made. The most populous municipalities have greater capacity to generate their own revenues and borrowing, allowing them to ensure greater coverage of expenditure on the acquisition of capital goods. In smaller municipalities, coverage levels are significantly lower, showing structural differences in a territory characterized by strong demographic asymmetries. The study used data from the 2024 municipal accounts available in the Information System of the Local Administration Sub-sector.
