Portugal's government has approved on Thursday, September 11, contracts for Embraer investments in Évora, in the south of the country, evaluated at 170 million euros (US$ 241 million) and expected to generate 570 work posts.
Speaking at the closing of the Council of Ministers, the Portuguese minister for the Presidency, Pedro Silva Pereira, said that the government hopes that by the end of 2009 "the projects may be in progress on the land."
"These investment contracts are of great importance and are turned to the installation of two industrial units in the region of í‰vora: one for production of metallic structures for the production of aircraft and another for the production of composite materials, lighter and more resistant," specified the government member.
According to the Portuguese minister for the Presidency, Embraer investment should not only have a "strong impact on regional development, but also on the structuring of an aeronautics 'hub' in Portugal."
"There will surely be an effect of growth of the Portuguese economy, generating advantages to small and medium companies that supply services in the area," he pointed out.
Pedro Silva Pereira recalled that the Embraer investment in Portugal was announced recently, during the last summit of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), in the presence of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and of the prime minister of Portugal, José Sócrates.
"It is a proposal that has the support of politicians in the government of Portugal and of Brazil," said the minister for the Presidency.
Lusa
