Portugal nets mega aeronautics investment contract

An investment of €400 million in the aeronautics industry in Portugal is expected to be announced this week.

The project, which equals the amount Embraer invested in Évora, is still under wraps and little is know about the project except it will be set up in the north of Portugal where 400 jobs will be created. The aeronautical components are said to be for a giant European airline manufacturer.
The news was broken on Saturday by Expresso which reported that Portugal had been chasing the project for several years and with the confirmation expected this week, it has won over against competition from various other European countries including Spain and in the final beat two Eastern European competitors.
According to the weekend newspaper, “All that is missing now is a mere formality to do with a pre-binding set of terms that the investor company will receive a number of financial incentives and tax breaks from the Portuguese State”. This request has been made to AICEP (the Portuguese trade and investment agency) which has now forwarded this on to entities responsible for managing European Union funds.
The reply from the entity that manages EU funds should br given by early this week after which it will be down to the investor to decide when to make the project public by officially launching it.
The project is expected to be completed with two to three years and involves supplying aviation infrastructures to one of the European giants in the sector with all the resulting product being exported.