PRIME Minister José Sócrates spent two days in the Algarve with various ministers at the weekend to announce various investments in tourism, health and professional education and to visit the Odelouca dam.
Accompanying him were Manuel Pinho, Economy and Innovation Minister, Nunes Correia, Environment Minister, Vieira da Silva, Employment and Charity Minister, and Correia de Campos, Health Minister.
José Sócrates and Manuel Pinho went to Lagos to present the project for the construction of 10 new five and six star hotels in the Algarve. This project, which aims to create a further 5,400 beds for tourism, will involve a total investment of 1,500 million euros, generating around 6,000 jobs.
Odelouca
After lunch, the Prime Minister visited the construction of the new dam in Odelouca and was satisfied with the works progress, which restarted in February after a gap of three years.
Odelouca dam was one of the controversial topics in the last election due to the halt in construction after a complaint from the Liga Nacional da Defesa dos Animais, the national league for the protection of animals.
José Sócrates said: “It gives great pleasure for someone who started a project to come and continue it.” He was the Environment Minister during António Guterres’ government when the project was launched. With a capacity of 134 million cubic meters of water, the dam is expected to be operational by 2010 and will be linked to the Funcho dam with an eight kilometre tunnel.
Education
A technological plan was discussed by the Prime Minister at the Centro de Formação Profissional, a training centre for the unemployed in Faro. New computers were offered and certificates given out for the competition of the Novas Oportunidades, new opportunities programme.
On Sunday, the visit ended after José Sócrates presided at a session in the Escola Superior de Faro, higher education school, in which new measures were announced for the Hospital Central do Algarve.
After the Prime Minister’s visit to the region, all of the leaders of the opposition parties in the Algarve classed the event as propaganda for the government that will not resolve the region’s problems.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: editor@portugalresident.com
