Dubai in Madeira

13 July 2018

Avelino Flour and Custodio Correia intend to build Another “Dubai in Madeira.”

In light of the discussions with Varino, the Funchal City Council agreed that a contract should be created for an implementation unit for the Amparo Detail Plan, to open the door to real estate investment on the Estrada Monumental. The preliminary study for the detail plan for the implementation unit 07 was unanimously approved at the local authority’s weekly meeting, according to a note in the JORAM, after which any interested parties will enter the process.

As we mentioned in yesterday’s edition, the ability for municipalities to hire private companies through the use of spatial planning instruments is provided for in law and the municipalities’ instruments, such as the PDM and Amparo Detail Plan. Now, upon publication, it is subject to a 15-day period for public commentary, “to provide interested parties with all the relevant information to make them fully cognizant of the area covered by the plan, as well as providing the opportunity for the submission of suggestions to the municipality.”

Currently, the developers are referring to their intention to build a new “Dubai in Madeira.” “Like Dubai, which rose from the desert sands to become one of the largest cosmopolitan cities in the world and today stands out as one of the largest business centres in the world, Varino intends to design a unique, differentiated and rewarding village for the city of Funchal, making it ever more attractive and distinctive,” Varino, the company jointly owned by AFA and Socicorreia, stated.

The developers refer to the project as “a challenge to Portuguese architecture.” The development will sit on a plot of land measuring 32,000 square meters, of which approximately 20,000 square meters will be reserved for green and leisure zones, “which will give everyone who passes through the opportunity to take advantage of wonderful areas that are a part of a distinct, pleasant and very functional enterprise.”

The village would consist of one- to four-bedroom flats, retail spaces, a 5-star hotel and services.

Varino stated that their investment in the economic and social development of the region is the result of a partnership between the two companies, both of which benefit from significant amounts of know-how regarding the construction and development of real estate buildings at the national and international level.

Original Story: Dnotícias.pt – Ricardo Miguel Oliveira

Translation: Richard Turner