In an interview with the Mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau, who took office in October 2013 and has since been working hard to put Faro on the map, we found out about some new investments they have planned for Faro.

New hospitals

When we move to a new city, health is one of our main priorities, especially when we are of a certain age or may have children or any health problems. When it comes to health Faro already has it all with two hospitals and several clinics. One of the hospitals is public (CHUA - Faro) and the other is private (HPA Health Group - Gambelas).

However, Rogério Bacalhau told The Portugal News that there are plans to build three new hospitals. Without mentioning the name of the groups, he said that there are three different private health groups who want to invest in Faro and build three hospitals, which is going to be of great utility for the locals and tourists who visit Faro.

"Especially for seniors or those with children when choosing a destination, safety and health care are fundamental. The fact that the Algarve is well endowed with health care units is an asset when we choose the destination", he said.

Why did Faro not follow other cities growth?

The Algarve has experienced great growth in recent decades. Counties such as Loulé, Albufeira, Portimão, Lagos have seen their tourist offer increase, and with that, the number of visitors and residents has also become greater than before. However, Faro has not experienced the same growth as other nearby cities.

"In my view, Faro has always been asleep on the tourism side. Faro as a capital has the public administration services here, as well as the airport and the university. Therefore, it has been growing due to these services and has never needed to worry about the future. Faro, which today is recognised as having very great potential, was never worried about tourism at all".

"In 2013 when we took over, we invested in tourism. In 2014 the first thing we did was to rebuild the old town. And then we had a set of opportunities that led to us having many more hotel beds today," he said. "It was a shame that there are many events that are held in Faro, where people who come from outside have to stay in the neighbouring municipalities".

In fact, hotels in Faro have high rates of occupation. "We are always busy, even in January, and not just in July and August. That means we need more investment," Rogério Bacalhau told The Portugal News.

"There are several projects in development, but we need more investment in this area. I would say that there is a very large potential and all the investments that have been made in recent years are going very well and my conviction is that those that will be carried out in the coming years will have a favourable rate of return on investment".

This investment can translate into both new construction and the rehabilitation of older downtown homes. "In the last decade, there have been many houses in downtown that have been rehabilitated. The AL holiday licence has been contributing immensely to the requalification of the houses because the profitability it has follows than the one it would have if it were only rehabilitation".

Housing

"We need more housing because we have companies that would like to be based in Faro, namely IT companies, but these companies work essentially with human resources and they need to house human resources," the mayor said.

In addition, “if we had housing available right now, firstly it certainly wouldn't be so expensive and secondly, we would be able to have more people and therefore more economy in the county”.

Looking for investors

"In the last few years things have worked very well and the investments that have been made in Faro have paid off," he said.

When I asked him what message he would like to leave, the mayor replied: "The message I have is that if you want to invest in Faro, come and talk to us. We are not real estate agents, but we know the county better than anyone and we can give our opinion".

“We receive investors within 24 hours and our projects are approved in an appropriate timeframe. Nobody waits 10 years to have a project approved," he added.

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins