Renewing maritime and urban potential

Portugal can only assert itself on the world stage if it becomes a major maritime player in the first quarter of the 21st century. This is the challenge that has been set by the Lisbon Business Association-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACL-CCIP), which commissioned a report from the ex-Minister of Finance Hernani Lopes, thanks to the financial aid of 15 major Portuguese companies. Titled “The Hypercluster of the Sea Economy,” this 340-page report identifies maritime potential for national development, analyses European best practices, and establishes mid- and long-term strategies, as well as action plans. If the recommendations of this report are followed, economic activities directly related to the sea will represent between 4 and 5% of the GDP in 2025, as opposed to only 2% today. “If we also add their indirect effects, sea activities can reach 12% of the GDP,” explains the President of the ACL-CCIP, Bruno Bobone. Other than whaling tourism, this “hypercluster” will include ports, logistics and transport, leisure cruises, naval construction and maintenance, defence, fishing and sea farming, as well as research. All sectors that must be integrated into current policies and perceived as a single entity deriving from the same resource. As for investments, these must be both public and private, even if it is difficult to put a figure on them for now, says Bruno Bobone. Ever since the Carnation Revolution military coup in 1974 put an end to the Portuguese overseas colonial past, the country has lost ground in its maritime economy – in spite of its 1,230 km in coastline. Today, 70% of global goods are transported by boat, but Portugal plays no role on this market, regrets the President of the ACL-CCIP. So it seems necessary to reverse this trend, via education, by speaking “in schools, by looking forward instead of backwards,” continues Bruno Bobone. “Portugal must take part in maritime traffic, not only to receive goods, but above all to provide services to other countries”, and so take advantage of its strategic geopolitical position between Europe, Africa and Brazil. Presented to the government a few months ago, the ACL-CCIP report advocates the establishment of a council of ministers dedicated to maritime affairs, the creation of special legislation for this “hypercluster,” and the constitution of a business forum with a long-term logic, capable of weighing up the decisions of leaders – the latter project is “already underway” confirms the President of the ACL-CCIP. While political support seems to have been secured, the calendar for implementing the recommendations remains very hazy. At the same time, another “national plan” for urban rehabilitation is taking shape. As part of measures to counter the crisis of the end of 2008, the government has programmed the rehabilitation of schools, given the dilapidation of public and private buildings.
According to the Portuguese Institute of Statstics, rehabilitation only touches 17.4 of the housing market, well below the EU average of 45%. 82% of Portuguese people are homeowners, one of the highest rates in Europe, for banks have overly facilitated access to home ownership, neglecting to mention the importance of compulsory tax expenses. Maintenance is thus neglected by home-owners, leading to a deterioration of constructions, even the most recent ones. Added to these factors is restrictive rental legislation whereby long-standing rents have ridiculously low ceiling rates, scarcely encouraging for rental investment.
According to the research bureau of the Association of Enterprises in Portugal-Chambers of Commerce and Industry, around 800,000 of the 5 million Portuguese residences are in need of rehabilitation. “Our cities are falling into pieces,” worries Fernando Pais Afonso, Managing Director of the Association of Companies for Construction and Public Works and Services (AECOPS), speaking of a degradation of the whole of the urban tissue: from homes to parks, via streets and infrastructures. If monuments and public buildings are included, the market would come to 200 billion euros, according to Fernando Pais Afonso.
Last year, the government approved a special regime for urban requalification, but the legislative elections in September have delayed the approval of the State budget. The Managing Director of AECOPS is impatient for the plan to go ahead, hoping for an increase in public spending, tax incentive measures, and above all, less restrictive rental legislation.