The government will authorize funding of 180 million euros for the construction and renovation of schools to ensure compliance with the objectives of the PDP, the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion said on Tuesday.
“The government will authorise the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR) to provide municipalities with funding of up to 180 million euros for the construction and renovation of schools,” the executive said in a statement.
According to the Office of the Deputy Minister of Territorial Cohesion, this measure will allow for the approval of applications that were not initially included in the competition announced within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
The executive therefore wants to prevent delays in projects that have already been contracted under the PRR and, through this “rebooking”, ensure that the established target of building or renovating 75 schools by June 2026 is met.
“These additional investments create a safety net that will allow us, in the event of possible delays in the completion of PRR-funded activities, to achieve the planned objectives and not waste funds,” emphasizes Minister Castro Almeida, quoted in the statement.
Of the 180 million euros currently approved, the largest share goes to the CCDR Centre (60 million euros). The North, Lisbon and the Tagus Valley will receive 50 million euros, 12 million euros will be allocated to the Algarve and eight million euros to the Alentejo.
The activities to be funded will be selected according to the “maturity of the project,” the department said, explaining that the first priority will be schools already under construction, followed by projects that have received an award and, finally, projects for which a call for proposals has already been published.
“In the event of a tie in the selection of performances, the criteria for the procedure for accepting applications for the competition opened in January 2024 will be applied,” the statement added.
All contracts under the PRR, which represent investments of 450 million euros, have already been signed.
“In the next stage, other schools covered by the agreement signed with the National Association of Municipalities will be financed, and for this purpose a loan procedure with the European Investment Bank is being carried out,” the trusteeship added.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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