Portugal's Housing Boom: Prime Minister Calls for More Labor to Meet Investment Demands

Portugal's Need for Labor in Housing Investment

The Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, stated during his visit to Brazil that Portugal requires more labor to fulfill its public investment program in housing. He acknowledged the challenges faced in responding to numerous requests due to current construction industry capacities.

“We effectively need more capacity, more business capability, and more workforce,” said Montenegro at the Brazil-Portugal Business Forum in São Paulo.

He emphasized that the economic success of Portugal is largely due to the efforts of many foreigners, particularly Brazilians, who make up over half of the country's immigrants, along with significant Brazilian business investments.

Montenegro expressed optimism, stating, “I believe we can do much more. We still have the capacity to welcome more people, talent, and especially more companies and investment.”

A Country of Opportunities

In front of business leaders at the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), Montenegro portrayed Portugal as a land of opportunities with a government committed to investment, currently engaged in one of the largest public investment programs in recent memory, supported by European Recovery and Resilience Fund resources.

According to the Prime Minister, this initiative marks a shift from previous years of stagnation in many planned investments, stressing that “what wasn’t done until now must be done now.”

Examples of ongoing investments include:

• The construction of a new Lisbon airport, crucial for the economy.
• A high-speed rail project for passenger and freight transport.
• Upgrading of port infrastructures and the entire port ecosystem.

Montenegro also invited Brazilian companies to seize investment opportunities in Portugal's infrastructure projects, highlighting the unprecedented scale of housing investment, which has not been seen in the last 50 years.

Housing Investment Needs

“We genuinely need more companies, more workforce. We have a timeline we cannot exceed to build 59,000 new homes within the state perimeter, with an investment exceeding 4 billion euros,” he reiterated.

The Prime Minister, who is set to address parliament for a censure motion against his government on Friday, arrived in São Paulo after participating in the 14th Luso-Brazilian Summit with Brazil's President, Lula da Silva.

The Brazil-Portugal Business Forum is organized by various agencies aimed at promoting exports and investments between the two nations.