The Government of the Azores announced today the approved of another four investment projects under the incentive scheme SIDER, which will allow the creation of more than sixty jobs on several islands.

The decision was taken by the Council of the Government that met in Santa Cruz da Flores under the Regional Government’s statutory visit to the island of Flores, which ends today.

Approved under the Incentive Scheme for the Regional Development of the Azores (SIDER) – Subsystem to Support Strategic Development, these four investment projects correspond to an investment of approximately 30 million Euros.

The projects concern the installation of solar panels for power generation in several buildings located in all Azorean municipalities and the construction of three industrial units for the production of biomass pellets on the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Pico. These projects are intended to promote and increase the production of energy from renewable sources.

The Government will allocate 12 million Euros in the form of a non-repayable subsidy and 4.8 million Euros in the form a repayable loan.

The Regional Government has also approved a Resolution appointing the representatives for the Strategic Council of SDEA – Society for the Business Development of the Azores in order to establish the consultation body that will support the implementation and monitoring of the strategies developed by SDEA.

The representatives of the Regional Government at this body will be the Regional Directors for Support to the Investment and Business Competitiveness, Employment and Vocational Training, Sea Affairs, Tourism, Public Works, Technology and Communications, Agriculture and Rural Development and for Fisheries.

This body also includes five members appointed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores (CCIA) and one appointed by the Azores Building Industry and Public Works Association (AICOPA) as representatives of the private sector.

The Strategic Council will have the power to decide on the global strategy developed by SDEA, presenting the proposals that contribute to the strengthening of the regional economy.

The Council of the Government has approved a Resolution approving the business plan and the investments to be carried out by SATA - Gestão de Aeródromos, SA this year.

The approved plans represent an estimated global investment over 357 thousand Euros and will be implemented on several islands, including the renewal works of the air terminal of Corvo Aerodrome and the purchase of equipments for the control tower of São Jorge Aerodrome.
 
This year, SATA will purchase metal detectors with the aim of reinforcing the security conditions of passengers and goods at the Pico, São Jorge, Corvo and Graciosa Aerodromes.

During this meeting, the Government led by Vasco Cordeiro has also decided to carry out with the qualification of new geothermal injection wells located in the geothermal reservoir of Fogo Volcano.

This qualification process results from the need to optimise the use of Ribeira Grande geothermal field, where the two geothermal power plants are located, through the relocation of injection zone of geothermal fluids.

The Council of the Government has also approved the stipulation of the base value concerning the allocation of support to training activities and competitions in training levels, additional support, awards, promotions, league maintenance as well as the support to athletes trained in the Azores.
Furthermore, it was also defined the number of members of the official
delegation of each sport, the competition level and the maximum number of teams per league of competition level to be supported in the sports season 2013/2014 and 2014.

The approved Resolution maintains the base value for the support to training activities and competitions in training levels in an effort to maintain and promote sports activities amongst youngsters. Moreover, it was decided to reduce the number of members in official delegations.