Loulé Council has announced that it will be investing €18 million to build two new buildings for the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) which will focus on “innovation and investigation in the field of biomedical sciences and active aging”.
Construction is due to begin in “seven to eight months”, Loulé Mayor Vítor Aleixo told regional news website Sulinformação.
One of the buildings – the ABC Loulé Health Research Center – will be built in Loulé on a 3,500 plot of land while the other – ABC Active Life – will be built in Vilamoura (4,00osqm).
“This is good news because we’re already at work,” said Aleixo.
The building in Loulé will have many uses as it will house the “Public Bank of Umbilical Cord Cells” which is currently based in Porto. It will also be the headquarters of the National Serum Bank and the Centre of Studies of Medication and Medical Devices.
Many other medical centres will be setting up shop at the Loulé building, such as the Centre of Entomological Research of the Algarve which will be studying diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.
In Vilamoura, the Active Life building will focus on promoting an active lifestyle mainly among pensioners.
The Algarve Biomedical Center is a joint venture involving Loulé Council, the University of the Algarve and the Algarve University Hospital Centre.
On its website, it says its main goal is to “create, share and divulge a culture of investigation and development, contributing towards the training of highly qualified health professionals.”
Its vision is to “be a centre of excellence focused on development, training and investigation and based on the concepts of efficiency, quality, competitiveness and innovation”.
michael.bruxo@algarveresident.com
Photo: The ABC Active Life building in Vilamoura will focus on promoting an active lifestyle mainly among pensioners
