Braga City Council invested 30 million euros (ME) in 2023, according to the Management and Accounts Report, which will be analyzed at the municipal executive meeting, next Tuesday.
Current savings of 24.7 MEGrand Options of the Plan with execution exceeding 18 ME compared to 2022
In a statement, the municipality highlights that “of this amount, around 4.2 million euros were made directly by the parish councils of the municipality (the largest volume ever made)”.
Thus, according to the Chamber, “the largest volume of structuring investments included in the investment program was achieved, also as a result of the process of administrative decentralization in the areas of health and social action and the consolidation of the same in education, which led to an increase considerable amount of operational activity”.
Among the works that represented the largest investment, the municipality highlights the requalification and modernization of the School Park (6.9ME), the continued implementation of the “Eu Passo Aqui” project (4.7ME), the urban insertion of the cycling network (1. 9ME), the various interventions in the municipal road network (1.9ME), the regularization of the Rio Torto and the requalification of the banks of Ribeira de Castro (1.6ME), the requalification of the Santa Tecla neighborhood (1.5ME), the requalification of the Convent of S. Francisco de Real (1.3ME), and the requalification of sports equipment (1.2ME).
In the division by areas, territorial planning and planning accounted for 10.5ME, followed by education (7ME), road transport (1.9ME), culture (1.4ME) and sport (1.2ME).
“These are fundamental investments that aim to affirm Braga as a sustainable municipality, continue to promote culture and sport in Braga, provide creative social responses to society’s current challenges, empower future generations, boost tourism, commerce, agriculture and industry and make the territory more attractive and competitive”, says the statement.
The Chamber also points out that, “as 2023 was a year of strong investment, the Municipality’s total liabilities registered an increase compared to 2022, still remaining at very acceptable levels, totaling around 69.5 million euros – of which 26 .6 million euros represent medium and long-term liabilities”.
Current savings of 24.7 ME
In 2023, the revenue budget reached an execution rate of 88.77% resulting in a total collected of 153.2 million euros. In relation to current revenue, the amount executed amounted to 136.5 million euros, with an execution rate of 101%.
As for the expenditure budget, it totals a paid amount of 152.8 million euros, which means an execution level of 88.5%. Of the budgeted current expenditure, 111.7 million euros were executed, equivalent to an execution of 89.5% of total expenditure.
“According to the financial regime of local authorities and intermunicipal entities, which determines that current revenues must be at least equal to current expenses, the Municipality shows current savings for the year in the amount of 24.7 million euros, fully applied in financing capital expenditure, complying with the principle of budget balance and intergenerational equity”, can be read in the statement.
As for the Plan’s Major Options, they have a total executed amount of 93.5 million euros and an execution rate of 85.3%, thus exceeding the execution of the previous year by around 18.7 million euros.
Of this amount, 25.7 million euros (28%) were channeled towards the execution of the Multi-Year Investment Plan. In this chapter, Social Functions represent an execution of 63.6 million euros, concentrating the largest proportion of the Municipality’s investments.
Already 67.8 million euros (72%) were spent on the Most Relevant Activities, essentially investments aimed at implementing the administrative and functional modernization of municipal administration, such as conservation of municipal buildings, hardware, software, basic administrative equipment and transport, as well as at the level of Civil Protection and Municipal Police.
The 2023 activity report will also be analyzed at the municipal executive meeting, which addresses interventions in strategic areas such as culture (conclusion of the first three-year period of the Cultural Strategy 2030), education, social responses, the economy, external relations, sustainability, urban planning, housing and urban rehabilitation.
