Investment creates more than 1,200 jobs
Suggesting the caretaker government does not in fact have its hands tied when it comes to spending money, the ministry of economy has announced a €300 million investment package in four Portuguese companies, creating more than 1,200 jobs.
The investment was approved under the auspices of the state’s foreign trade agency AICEP.
According to the economy ministry’s statement, the money will be going to “four areas of activity, namely car components, cellulose fibres, medical and hospital equipment and measuring devices”.
“These investments contracted by AICEP in the first four months of 2025 will enable the creation of a further 1,263 new jobs, of which 152 are qualified, and the maintenance of 1,211, of which 227 are qualified,” says the statement.
According to the government, this volume of contracted investments is “a good sign that the Portuguese economy will be able to maintain its growth trajectory in 2025, despite a particularly challenging external environment”.
The investments will be distributed among four companies, with the largest going to Coloplast Manufacturing Portugal, totalling €110 million, for the construction of an industrial unit in Felgueiras.
Bioteck will receive €75 million to transform its production line, while Preh Portugal will receive €72 million to expand its current production unit in Trofa.
Finally, Testo Portugal will receive an investment of €44 million “to build a new, modern industrial unit to manufacture and assemble measuring and control equipment”.
The statement recalls that a lot has been done in the government’s short tenure, in terms of business investment: in February, “(Chinese) CALB’s investment of around €2 billion was launched to build a state-of-the-art lithium battery factory in Sines, which will create 1,800 direct jobs” (this being a project conceived during the former Socialist government).
In March, Volkswagen announced that it would produce a new electric car at Autoeuropa in Palmela.
And in 2024 “a total investment package of €420 million had already been contracted through the Agency, which corresponds to the creation of more than a thousand jobs in six different areas of activity and with 600 of these jobs being permanently allocated to research and technological development activities”.
Quoted in the statement, Economy Minister Pedro Reis said all the investments show that Portugal continues to be seen by investors as a safe harbour.
Source: LUSA
