The buildings of the military canteen and the army uniform workshops (OGFE) in Lisbon will be restored and converted into living quarters for soldiers at a “low cost”, the defence minister said in an interview with Lusa.
Nuno Melo referred to historical buildings and spaces such as the military canteen in Lisbon, Campo de Santa Clara and the OGFE, saying that these are heritage sites that have deteriorated and will be restored and refurbished “to provide accommodation conditions at reasonable costs” for the military.
Without giving any specific dates or cost for the project, which mainly covers typologies 1 and 2, a government official said these figures would be known “in the very short term,” adding that the city of Porto would also offer military housing of the same model.
“There will always be many millions, but we always speak from an investment point of view,” the minister said, assuring that the ownership of these areas will remain in the sphere of the Armed Forces and, in particular, in the two cases he mentioned, in the army.
“When we talk about the Lisbon mess, we are talking about an extraordinary historic building with remarkable frescoes and paintings that are in danger due to the dilapidated state of the roofs, the wooden structures and the frames, in other words, that require urgent intervention,” he stressed.
The projects to restore and convert military buildings into housing are aimed at benefiting military personnel and their families who are or will be serving in major centres such as Lisbon and Porto, where it is “very expensive” to rent a home.
Speaking in his office at the Ministry of Defence building in Resteló, Lisbon, Nuno Melo considered that the increase in the housing allowance, recently approved by the Council of Ministers, was already “an appropriate step in helping the military” in terms of housing space, but “does not eliminate the structural problem.”
“We hope, and this will now be seen in this upcoming assessment, that this will help address the recruitment and retention issues” of service members in the Armed Forces, he said.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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