“We are a municipality that, in addition to the capacity for execution and good teams, has financial capacity. Therefore, we will resort to a loan; we will go to the bank,” stressed Luísa Salgueiro, elected by the Socialist Party.

Future discussion

The mayor stressed that this loan request will be discussed at the next public meeting of the municipal executive, scheduled for Wednesday.

After having executed 100% of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), delivering more than 500 houses built and rehabilitated in this area, Matosinhos wants to “do more” because it “needs more,” she pointed out.

“We haven’t solved the housing problem in Matosinhos, and we are at a crucial stage where we either wait for national measures or we move forward, and we will move forward,” stressed the former president of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP).

Return to the municipality

By requesting a loan, the city council is advancing funds that are the Government’s responsibility because Matosinhos cannot wait, nor can it be held hostage to the ‘timing’ of the PSD/CDS-PP Government, she pointed out.

The socialist clarified that, of the €40 million, the city hall will recover more than €20 million, an amount corresponding to the 60% that is the Government’s responsibility and which will then be channelled into other investments.

These new houses, all on municipal land, will not be for subsidised rent, but for affordable rent aimed at the middle class, she explained.

“Those we have built so far were for subsidised rent, and now we want to build for affordable rent,” she insisted.

Project for young people

One of the projects will be exclusively for young people up to 35 years old who currently have difficulty becoming independent, she indicated.

Luísa Salgueiro, who is serving her last term, estimated that the housing will be ready in three to four years.

Of the 500 houses, more than 200 are the responsibility of the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU), she reinforced.

In addition to building new housing, the city hall will also rehabilitate, with this loan, seven housing complexes totalling 1,173 houses that were not included in the PRR, she added.