Minister Castro Almeida appeals for the mobilization of the mayors to solve the housing problem

Minister Castro Almeida appeals for the mobilization of local authorities to solve the housing problem The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion said today that the lack of housing in Portugal is related to the decrease in the construction of private homes and appealed for a general mobilization of local authorities to resolve the problem. "The resolution of the housing program in Portugal will not be done at the expense of building public houses. There is a lack of houses in Portugal because private individuals are building fewer houses. Today, as many houses are built in Portugal as were built per week 20 years ago. And that is what generates the lack of houses," said Castro Almeida. The government spoke during the commemorative session for the 37th anniversary of the Intermunicipal Community of the Aveiro Region (CIRA), which includes 11 municipalities in the region. In his speech, the minister referred that by the end of the year, the housing market will have 40 thousand new or renovated homes, a number that is still below the 133 thousand homes that correspond to the needs listed by the municipalities. Castro Almeida stated that the Government has an enormous will to solve the problem, as financing for the remaining missing houses is already guaranteed, but he stressed that this is not enough, defending that it is necessary for the municipalities to assume this role as a municipal priority. In this sense, he appealed to the local authorities to take the initiative to find land to carry out these houses, as well as for "maximum speed" in analyzing the projects that private individuals propose to build. "I am not asking you to approve impossible or illegal projects. [I ask] you to put pressure on your services so that deadlines are met," he clarified. The minister also reassured the local authorities of the Aveiro region about two investments considered strategic and which have no provision in the State Budget for 2027: the works to expand and redevelop the Hospital of Aveiro and the construction of the Aveiro-Águeda Road Axis. In the case of the hospital, Castro Almeida said that the matter has been well delivered, stating that the Minister of Health, with whom he recently spoke, "is fully committed to moving forward to qualify the hospital". Regarding the Road Axis, which is in the public tender phase looking for interested parties to carry out the contract, the minister assured that it is a priority of the Government that will be realized. He also explained that the financial instruments to be able to carry out the work will be defined after the opening of the proposals, which is scheduled for November 17th. "It is not worth us being here now to detail which will be the financial instrument, which chapter of the budget will finance the work, because that is totally irrelevant," he concluded.