This Wednesday, the Lisbon City Council approved the withdrawal of affordable construction concessions in Benfica, Paco da Rainha and Parque das Naços and changed the planned operation in Paco da Rainha to 100% public.
At stake are tenders under the Affordable Income Program (PRA), which provides for the construction of a total of 1,008 houses, namely 688 in Benfica, 85 in Paço da Rainha, in the Arroyos district, and 235 in Parque das Nacoins. This is reported by the city council of Lisbon.
In a closed session of the city council executive, proposals to no tender for affordable rents in Benfica and Parque das Nasuens, submitted by the PSD/CDS-PP leadership, which rules without an absolute majority, were approved by a majority, among 17 elected, with an independent councilor elected by the coalition abstaining PS/Livre, and voting for the rest, namely seven from the Novos Tempos coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança), five from PS, two from PCP, one from BE and one from Livre.
The proposal for the PRA in Paco da Rainha was unanimously approved, as was the amendment proposed by BE to make the planned development 100% public, a proposal that was also made for the other two affordable income operations but was not implemented, PSD/CDS voted against and PS abstained.
A statement from the Lisbon Chamber explains that once these concession tenders are approved, the executive branch must “submit new proposals for these areas of the city within a month.”
“We voted for the reconversion of Paço da Rainha because we believe that the type of intervention in this building does not fit the concession model,” Housing Advisor Philipa Roseta (PSD), quoted in the statement, said.
In this sense, the Lisbon Chamber is already studying the transition of this concession to another model, namely to a cooperative one, the mayor of the PSD indicated.
With regard to PRA in Benfica and Parque das Nações, where the type of intervention allows for larger operations, “a new model is being developed that may be attractive to private promoters, given the global context of uncertainty in the construction sector,” said the Lisbon Chamber.
In this context, BE once again opposed the public-private partnership (PPP) model in the PRA, so it proposed that these three operations become entirely public responsibility, “guaranteeing 1,008 homes at prices people can afford, factors in the time of the housing crisis “.
Regarding making changes to the PRA in Benfica and Parque das Nações, Block said in a statement that “he will not give up until all operations move to the Affordable Public Income Program.”
The BE in the Lisbon Chamber, represented by Councilor Beatriz Gómez Dias, recalled that the public PRA proposed in the previous mandate of Bloco de Esquerda “already allocated more than 800 houses at prices that people can afford in Lisbon and the income of the PPP Accessible Version Program” since 2015, she has not handed over a single house. ”
According to the municipality, the concession bidding was approved in April 2021 and continued until May 2022 with several delays, with the jury finding that none of the four proposals submitted – two in Benfica, one in Parque das Nasuens and one in Paço Queen – will be entitled to a verdict.
“The concession agreement for Rua Gomes Freire has been signed and is underway for a total of 92 houses,” the council said, noting that restoration work began on October 12.
Regarding the affordable rent concession on Rua de San Lázaro, which contains a total of 131 houses, the municipality said that “it is still awaiting dispatch as the process is in court since 2020”.
The PRA in Benfica provides for the construction of 688 houses, of which 459 are with affordable rent, with an “estimated cost of 120 million euros,” the council said, adding that the Parque das Nações operation is valuing “235 houses, 154 of which are for affordable income and an estimated cost 31.2 million euros.”
The Affordable Income Program (PRA) is a public housing program in Lisbon that is being developed along several lines, two of which are PRA Concessões and PRA Público.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.