Fausto Brito e Abreu expects that the new Topo Port on São Jorge will promote development and job creation
The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology presented in the village of Topo the project for the improvement of the operating conditions of the local port. The government official conveyed his belief that the new infrastructure will promote economic development and the creation of jobs.
"We expect to award the project this year so that all legal procedures, which are time consuming in this type of work, may be carried out throughout the first semester of next year. Our aim is to begin the work in the beginning of the summer," Fausto Brito e Abreu said, adding that this work is expected to bring economic gains to the entire archipelago."
Speaking during the presentation ceremony, the Regional Secretary stressed that this work, with a budget of 2.2 million Euros, is an old aspiration and recalled that its implementation was an electoral promise that is taking a further step towards its fulfilment, though the public presentation of the project.
"Fishing is an activity that will directly benefit local economy, but the port will also be a development hub for other activities, such as recreational boating or maritime tourism activities; the latter are being sought-after in the Region," stressed the government official.
"Our sea has plenty of resources that we have yet to fully exploit. This port and other infrastructures in which the Government is investing will provide us with an opportunity to do so, but we will need the skills of fishers and other entrepreneurs who know how to seize the potentialities of this investment," said Fausto Brito e Abreu.
The project presented today includes the construction of a jetty oriented towards the north in order to close the port basin. After the works, the mooring birth is expected to be 40 metres long.
In addition, the port will have an embankment area of 1,300 square metres, a mooring area of about 77 metres (extended by 50 metres) and a new beaching ramp that will be 7.5 metres wide.