FAIAL | Artur Lima announces 740 thousand-Euro investment for construction of Temporary Accommodation Centre in Horta

The Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores, Artur Lima, marked on Tuesday the beginning of the construction work of the Temporary Accommodation Centre of the Santa Casa de Misericórdia da Horta institution, Faial Island, an overall investment of about 740 thousand Euros financed under the REACT-EU fund.

“This investment has as its main goal to provide the island of Faial with a social response of temporary support to adults in need. The centre is expected to have a maximum capacity for 16 users,” he stressed.

According to the government official, the creation of this service will support “citizens in a situation of social exclusion” in terms of accommodation, personal hygiene and food needs.

Artur Lima acknowledged the importance of the Government assuming its “intervening role” to generate “social balances” in society, reminding, however, that each “vulnerable citizen” is “co-responsible for their integration process.”

On the day that marked the launch of this work on the island of Faial, which will be carried out by the company Afavias – Engenharia e Construções S.A., the Vice-President of the Government recalled the “constraints that have been experienced.”

“What happened with the Horta Temporary Accommodation Centre in terms of the implementation of this project is a reflection of a rather common situation that affects public investment in the Region,” he stressed, noting the “impacts of the pandemic and the war” and the “public procurement rules.”

“Four public tenders were launched for this project but were unsuccessful. The first tender dates from June 31, 2020, and the base price was set at 200 thousand Euros,” he stressed.

And he continued: ” It was only with the fifth tender, launched on March 10, 2023, that we found a contractor to carry out this important investment at a base price of 450 thousand Euros.”

Therefore, as Artur Lima reiterated, the “base price of this works contract was revised and updated by nearly 250 thousand Euros.” 

“REACT-EU or the RRP are Community funds and tools created, before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, to support the recovery and resilience of European countries and regions,” he said.

Therefore, Artur Lima stated that what is expected from “European institutions and the different stakeholders involved” is “more sensitivity in the understanding” and in the “response to the context that has conditioned the implementation” of these funds.

During his visit to the island of Faial, the government official also had the opportunity to deliver an electric vehicle with nine seats to the Casa do Povo do Capelo (community centre), funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) under the GER-MOV programme in the amount of 34 thousand Euros.

GRA/RÁDIOILHÉU