The presidents of the Chamber of Viana do Castelo and the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) today signed the cooperation protocol for the construction of a Civil Protection ‘campus’ in Alto Minho.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the ceremony, which took place at the Sapadores de Viana do Castelo fire station, which today celebrates 244 years, the president of ANEPC, Duarte Costa, said that, after the formalization of the agreement, the objective is to find financing for the completion of the work.
“Now, ANEPC, the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), the Chamber of Viana do Castelo, the Intermunicipal Community (CIM) of Alto Minho and the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the North (CCDR-N) have to work together to find adequate financing for a large investment”, said Duarte Costa.
At stake is the future ‘campus’ of the Civil Protection of Alto Minho, to be built on municipal land in the parish of Mazarefes.
The project will be carried out in two phases, the first of which involves the construction of a property to house the Sub-Regional Command which, since 2002, has been installed in a part of the building that until 2011 served as the Civil Government of Viana do Castelo.
The Alto Minho Sub-Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command integrates the 10 municipalities of the Viana do Castelo district.
On the same land in Mazarefes, owned by the municipality, with a total area of 8,088.1 square meters, the municipality and ANEPC intend to build an Alto Minho Logistics Support Base.
“The objective is to centralize in a common space for all entities, gain economies of scale, making the response to incidents cheaper and more efficient”, said the person in charge.
The president of ANEPC said that the project could also integrate “other areas that are in other areas of the territory”.
“We are analyzing whether it will be worth adding them to the Alto Minho Civil Protection ‘campus’”, said Duarte Costa, pointing out as an example the means of assistance to intervene in incidents on the road network, the railway, as well as on the Atlantic front. .
The mayor of Viana do Castelo pointed out the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), the Portugal 2030 program or the State Budget as possible sources of financing to be discussed with the Government.
Socialist Luís Nobre added that, in addition to providing the land, the municipality will also carry out architectural and specialty projects for the properties, in conjunction with ANEPC.
The ceremony marking the 244th anniversary of the Viana do Castelo Sapadores Firefighters was also marked by the reinforcement of 13 new members who join the 75 active operational members.
The municipality also delivered an ambulance to the corporation, an investment of 75 thousand euros.
The commander of the Firefighters Sapadores pointed out that the main weakness of the corporation is related to the rescue fleet, which is showing “some wear and tear”.
“This weakness has been identified and communicated to the municipality which, in the short term, will be satisfied”, said Ricardo Fernandes.
