empowering
blue
economy

The importance of the ports of Aveiro and Figueira da Foz for the sustainable economic and social development of the Centre Region was discussed at the seminar "Ports - Leveraging for the Regional Economy", held on 11 October at the Grande Hotel do Luso, an initiative of the Aveiro Port Authority and the Figueira da Foz Port Authority, with the support of Mealhada City Council and TRANSPORTES & NEGÓCIOS. 

The aim of the seminar was to promote discussion on the potential of the Centre Region and the contribution of both ports, as port and intermodal infrastructures, to the development and international competitiveness of the companies located in their areas of influence and, consequently, to the regional economy. 

During the afternoon, three different panels discussed the "Potential of the Centre Region" (with speeches by Isabel Damasceno, President of CCDR Centro, Luís Rebelo de Sousa, Director of aicep Portugal Global, and Miguel Cruz, President of Infraestruturas de Portugal), "What the region expects from the ports" (António Poças - NERLEI, Fernando Castro - AIDA-CCI, João Faustino - CEFAMOL, Nuno Lopes - ACIFF and Cesar Coutinho - ABIMOTA) and "The contribution of ports and intermodality" (Nabo Martins - APAT, Fernando Delgado - Ellerman City Liners, José Valente - Wec Lines and Miguel Rebelo de Sousa - APEF). 

The Minister for Infrastructure, João Galamba, attended the opening session, along with Eduardo Feio, Chairman of the Board of Directors of APA and APFF, and Jorge Franco, Mayor of Mealhada. 

The closing session was attended by the presidents of the port communities of Aveiro and Figueira da Foz, Nuno Pires and Gonçalo Vieira respectively, and the chairman of the IMT Board of Directors, João Caetano.