“New fiscal benefit contracts were approved for a range of investments, the largest range of investments in the past two years,” said the minister of economy, Manuel Caldeira Cabral, at a briefing after the day’s regular weekly cabinet meeting. “We are talking about 215 million euros in investments in areas as different as automotive, plastics, the manufacture of metal panels and the tourism industry.”
Cabral said that the projects are to be in “different areas” in the country, including Bragança, Barcelos, Figueira da Foz, Arcos de Valdevez and Porto, and above all in “manufacturing industry”. They have, he added, “enormous potential to increase exports”.
As well as creating a net new 525 jobs, the minister went on, the investment would safeguard 854 existing ones, as well as having important knock-on effects on companies acting as suppliers for the new projects.
The investments are being made by companies owned by French, Canadian and Australian as well as Portuguese shareholders.
The contracts made are with Celulose Beira Industrial, for the installation of a new timber processing line, with Celtejo, for action to reduce emissions of polluting gases, with Faurecia, in the form of new automotive technologies, with Fibose Portuguesa, for the implementation of technology for the production of bioriented film, with Eurocast Portugual, for a new smelting unit for aluminium pieces, and with Waratah, for the acquisition and operation of a hotel ship.