Raquel Abecassis, InvestLisboa’s executive director, shared her first impressions of the event with Vida Imobiliária: «we are definitely back in action. There are many people at Expo Real seeking investment opportunities, with very precise demands, and it is clear that people come here to do business, seeking specific investments within Lisbon’s Metropolitan Area».
Lisboa presents Affordable Rent and new projects in the South
Lisbon is promoting the Affordable Rent project at the event, «a great priority for the city, which is at the start up and project implementation stage. Many people are seeking this type of investment».
On the other hand, the Almada City Hall and the Tagus Bay area presented «several big projects, some already at the implementation and approval stages, which can become great opportunities for investors from Europe and from other parts of the world who are here seeking us».
According to Raquel Abecassis, InvestLisboa is now facing new challenges which «include the changes in the city of Lisbon during the last local elections. We are eager to understand which will be the city hall’s priorities so that we can set our own». Also, she explained, «we should grow as an agency that promotes investment in the city, not only from a formal standpoint, but also in terms of the reach we want to have as a region. We are at a moment of change, as is the city’s management. The challenges facing us are very exciting», she concluded.
Porto presents urban renewal and city expansion opportunities
Pedro Baganha, town planning councilman at Porto City Hall was present at the event and remarked that it was «very important to be present in the first live pan-European event, it was essential to show up, because our internationalisation strategy includes persistence. This event, despite its smaller dimension, is still a re-start», he commented.
Represented by InvestPorto, the city of Porto seeks at Expo Real investment for a series of new projects which are on the pipeline. Pedro Baganha explained that «Porto approved this year a new Municipal Master Plan, which will identify a series of urban renewal opportunities, but we are also developing projects to expand the city, in particular the Eastern area, with a series of anchor investments, which have attracted a lot of interest from private capital, but also the Northern area, with Paranhos and Ramal, the area where the University Campus is located. On the Western part of the city, we are working on developing the Nuno Álvares Avenue», described the councilman.