Reinforcing the competitiveness of regional companies and enhancing their capacity to generate employment are the main goals of the revision of the Incentive Scheme for the Regional Development of the Azores (SIDER) which the Regional Secretary for the Economy, Vasco Cordeiro, formally introduced on Wednesday at the beginning of a round of meetings with the chambers of commerce and industry, and other regional organisations representing the business sector in the Region.

 At the end of a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada on Wednesday, Vasco Cordeiro said that, in addition to these two goals, the Azorean Government also intends to “adapt this powerful support tool for private investment to the current context, mainly through the redefinition of the areas considered strategic, such as the promotion of economic base industries in to foster the export sector, and the adjustment or reformation of some aspects that were not working properly, which is the case of commercial urbanism that will be subject to a thorough reformation.”
 
According to the Regional Secretary for the Economy, the revision of SIDER “follows a mid-term assessment on this system that was carried out at end of 2010 as well as a hearing to the social partners in January,” being undertaken with the purpose of “selecting the most relevant areas, or in which there is an urgent need to reinforce this support measures.”

One example, mentioned the Regional Secretary, “concerns the tourism development subsystem, which has not registered an increase in support for the construction of infrastructures, but an increase in the incentives for the investment in tourism animation activities as we understand that, currently, this is the area to which these support mechanisms should be directed.”

Nevertheless, “the grant of support to differentiated infrastructures or to infrastructures linked with certain products will be continued as the amendments introduced to the Tourism Management Plan of the Azores suspended its implementation on São Miguel, authorising the construction of new buildings only in very specific cases.”

Hence, “with this revision, the Regional Government aims to reinforce the investment in tourism animation, increasing the tourist flow. In this context, the reinforcement of the reimbursement rate of new undertakings will not be a priority.

With regard to the support subsystem to the strategic development, “there are also some changes which were introduced to strengthen our industries and its respective export potential,” Vasco Cordeiro defended, adding that the Government considers that “this is the area that should be supported in the current context.”

The Regional Secretary further explained that “the financial support will increase between five and ten percent, compared to the available support, and they will be selective because it would not make sense to increase all incentives.”

With these amendments, stated the Regional Secretary for the Economy, “there is not a blind approach to increase all incentives since this is not what the Azorean economy needs right now. In this moment, the regional economy needs to promote and stimulate specific areas with special emphasis to quality and innovation, which is a subsystem that has undergone significant changes.”

In addition to the meeting with the Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Regional Secretary for the Economy also met with the board of the Azores Building Industry and Public Works Association (AICOPA). Vasco Cordeiro will meet with the Hotel, Restaurant and Related Business Association of Portugal (AHRESP) on Wednesday afternoon.

The Regional Secretary for the Economy will meet with the Angra do Heroísmo Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday. On the following day, Vasco Cordeiro will meet with Industrial and Commercial Association of the island of Pico (ACIP) and the Horta Chamber of Commerce and Industry.