Lufthansa’s plant for repair of aircraft engine parts “should create 526 jobs”
Lufthansa Technik is to receive tax benefits from the Portuguese state that could exceed €1.5 million for setting up in Santa Maria da Feira, the local authority for the district of Aveiro and the Porto Metropolitan Area has announced today.
The news refers to the industrial unit for the repair of aircraft engine parts and components announced last year, and expected to start operating at the end of 2027.
The project represents an “investment of €227.6 million” and the creation of “526 jobs” – 325 of which by 2028 and the rest by 2030, says Lusa.
This is markedly fewer jobs than predicted when the project was first mooted.
To meet this financial commitment, the local municipal council (with a PSD and PS majority) unanimously decided to support the factory’s construction under the Contractual Tax Benefits for Productive Investment Scheme, a government instrument that only applies if the local authority involved agrees to waive taxes to which it would otherwise be entitled.
In practice, there are two major sources of revenue that the council will forego: Municipal Property Tax (IMI), from which Lufthansa Portugal will be exempt for five years up to a total amount of €40,000, and Municipal Tax on Onerous Transfers of Real Estate (IMT), which will be exempt up to a limit of €1.5 million in a single transaction, at the time of signing the agreement for the purchase of the land for the new factory.
The mayor of Santa Maria da Feira, Amadeu Albergaria, has justified this support telling Lusa: “The arrival of Lufthansa Technik Portugal represents a hugely important international investment in the district, both in terms of volume, at over €227 million, and in terms of the creation of more skilled jobs in a highly technological area with high added value”.
For the PSD mayor, the unanimous approval of these tax benefits demonstrates the territory’s willingness “to welcome and support projects of strategic interest” and reflects “a spirit of total institutional cooperation with the government”, since the arrival of Lufthansa Technik, in addition to strengthening the “economic and industrial centrality of the district”, also contributes “to the affirmation of Portugal as a competitive and attractive destination for cutting-edge industry”.
The more than €1.5 million in benefits in question are, however, dependent on compliance with three conditions: the first is compliance with all the clauses of the investment contract to be established between the company and the Portuguese state; the second is that “the exemption only applies to properties acquired by December 31, 2025 and which are proven to be intended for the installation of the industrial unit”; and third is that the same exemptions are “invalidated” if the factory closes before the end of 2035.
According to Amadeu Albergaria, Lufthansa Technik Portugal will be built specifically in the LusoPark industrial zone and will focus on the inspection, testing, maintenance and repair of aircraft components and engine parts.
This unit will be the first project in Portugal for the company owned by German airline Lufthansa – and is seen as a “transformative investment” given the growing global impact of the aeronautical industry and its export potential.
source : LUSA
