Greater Porto present at Expo Real in attracting more value-added investment to the region
Porto.
· 06 Oct 2022
Accompanied by 17 partners, the three Atlantic Front municipalities presented the new brand to international players. At a joint press conference in Munich, the Alderman of Economy of Porto City Council, Ricardo Valente (who is accompanied by the Alderman of Urbanism and Public Space, Pedro Baganha), the Mayor of Matosinhos, Luísa Salgueiro, and the Mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia, Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues, highlighted the importance of this new initiative, which aims to attract investment in the industrial, business, real estate and innovation sectors, promoting economic growth and qualified employment in the region.
"At the moment, these three municipalities represent 52 percent of direct foreign investment in the country," revealed the councillor for Economy, Employment and Entrepreneurship, quoted by Lusa news agency.
"We are building a project that scales and projects territories beyond their borders," said Ricardo Valente. "We are creating another intangible bridge that allows us to sell ourselves together," he added, saying that in 2021, Porto had "more than a billion euros of investment from companies in the city".
Greater Porto wants to be a hub of attractiveness
The mayor of Matosinhos, Luísa Salgueiro, and her counterpart from Vila Nova de Gaia, Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues, also stressed the need to place the three municipalities on the same level as other European regions and cities, assuming the role of a pole of attractiveness.
Luísa Salgueiro said that Matosinhos is looking, in particular, for investments in "structuring sectors" in the area of investment and technological development, innovation, the sea, and that, simultaneously, promote young and qualified employment. "All this, depending on the jobs that are created, also has a different evaluation from the fiscal point of view for the municipality of Matosinhos," he stressed.
Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues stressed the importance of this initiative for the three municipalities, which, besides territory, share the commuting movement "of people and economic activity". "Vila Nova de Gaia will be able to welcome investments on a larger scale, but also look to the future based on what is very positive", highlighted the Mayor of the local authority of Vila Nova de Gaia.
The Mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia stressed that the municipalities "will have to understand each other" in order to promote a "homogenous offer" in terms of taxation. "The municipalities have today a very powerful instrument from a fiscal point of view which is the definition of the ARU [Urban Rehabilitation Areas], this makes a lot of sense to be thought of not as Gaia, Porto or Matosinhos, but in the compound of interdependence that we have to do. This is the path we have to take", assured Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues.
The three municipalities were present at Expo Real with a space of 154 square meters, revealing the project globally, but simultaneously communicating the brand language of each city. A much sought-after space prepared to host various initiatives, with interaction between participants in the fair and networking moments. Greater Porto allied itself with a significant group of companies in the region to show the dynamism and potential of new businesses. Sociedade de Advogados Antas da Cunha ECIJA, Avenue, b;Prime, Castro Group, Sociedade de Advogados CCSM, Chave Nova, Civilria, GEOinvestimentos, GFH & Sonae Sierra, Horizonte, Inovagaia, Emerger, Predibisa, Qualive Real Estate Group and VPM Real Estate marked their presence, in a clear demonstration of the interest and potential opportunities that this initiative holds, creating a wide pole of interest for investors and companies that wish to establish themselves in the region.
The representatives of the three municipalities also received in the Greater Porto space the delegation from Madrid, represented by vice-president Begona Villacis, and the delegation from Barcelona, exchanging experiences and future projects.
