400 million investment in Portugal for new Silicon Valley
“The creation of a “unique ecosystem for business, science and technology ”is the goal of the“ Oeiras Valley ”program, officially launched this Thursday by the municipality, which should form a municipal agency to accomplish the ambition in reality.
“I have been defending for many years the idea that Oeiras meets all the conditions to be a kind of Portuguese Silicon Valley. And that’s how we want to make this dream come true, ”said Mayor Isaltino Morais. The mayor, who was speaking in the auditorium of the Templo da Poesia in Parque dos Poetas, Oeiras, added that the launch of the program is the fulfilment of a vision for “a more modern, smarter, more developed, more international and inclusive municipality”.
However, the launch of the program will have “the Oeiras´s inhabitants and the citizens at the center” of a new development cycle of the municipality, which will create in Oeiras the “largest incubator for innovation, science, creativity and technology in Portugal”, said Isaltino Morais.
The mayor noted that Oeiras is well positioned to achieve the objective, as it is the second municipality at national level “with the largest turnover of non-financial companies”, concentrating a large number of companies of the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector. “Our municipality concentrates 10.8% of existing companies in this sector in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area,” said the elected by an independent movement, naming the choice of Cisco, HP and Google to make Oeiras “your home.”
Although the municipality was a pioneer in the creation of business, scientific and technological parks, such as Taguspark, Quinta da Fonte and Lagoas Park, Isaltino Morais aims to attract more investment to the municipality, enabling Oeiras to assert itself as “the number one Portuguese municipality in the science area”and strengthen its role in exports. In order to achieve the programme’s objectives, the municipality assumes the need to focus on economic and social development policies, and on improving mobility, due to recognized problems in the area of transport.
The municipality, in addition to launching a scholarship program that allows young people in the municipality to access university education, proposes to help entrepreneurs overcome bureaucratic difficulties through the establishment of a municipal “agency or company” that streamlines their work. “Oeiras Valley” development.
“The starting point is already very high, practically 13% of GDP is generated here in Oeiras. The bar is already very high and therefore growth from now on has to be very qualitative and there are areas here that are creating some problems for us, ”said Isaltino Morais, speaking to Lusa, pointing to the sharp lack of investment. in transport.
The municipality will contribute with a total investment of 400 million euros for the program “Oeiras Valley”, which will rely on other areas, such as housing, with the planned construction of residential real estate for sale and lease. For the mayor, the program shows a great commitment of the council and that “one is active and not just looking to take the credits”. ”
Source: Lusa 23/05/2019 through https://www.msn.com/pt-pt/financas/casas/oeiras-quer-ser-a-silicon-valley-portuguesa-vai-investir-400-milh%C3%B5es/ar-AABNHfn