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1. What is the long-term vision you have regarding the development of your municipality?
I wish a more industrialised municipality, better services, a better road accessibility to Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Chaves and Vinhais, and that the dissemination of the municipality's potentialities can be effective in order to attract investment and retain our population.
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2. Why do you consider your municipality to be attractive as a location for companies and businesses?
Geographically Valpaços is located in the centre of the Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro region. It is a municipality with good potential mainly in the primary sector, having agricultural products of highest quality, like olive oil, chestnuts, wine and almonds, and natural and organic products. I hope that they are going to get more added value, be exploited and become profitable on the national and as well the international market.
With regard to tourism, there is in the municipality a rural hotel network, with good conditions and high quality, benefited by the micro climate of the region, the excellent and unpolluted water resources and a unique landscape in the heart of the sub-region "terra quente" (hot land). We are a municipality of transition between the terra quente and terra fria (cold land) of the Trás-os-Montes region and thus incorporating the typicality and the contrast of these two natural spaces.
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3. Do you think that the municipality has a vocation and is in the position to receive Foreign Direct Investment?
The municipality welcomes all investment, national and foreign, that can contribute to the quality of life of our citizens.
We have excellent conditions for the installation of companies and an increasingly improvement of accessibility to major traffic ways that link us to the Portuguese coast and the neighbour Galicia.
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4. And concerning Domestic Investors?
See previous answer.
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5. Is there any person or service available with the task to support potential investors who are considering establishing their production units in your municipality?
The municipal services, namely the one of urbanism and financing have experts prepared to support potential investors either to find a location for the installation of their productive unit or to support the elaboration of the construction projects, licenses and fiscal benefits that can be granted.
We are as well a member of the Association for the Development of the Region of Alto Tâmega (ADRAT), which has the know-how to support regional development and dissemination of the region on national and international markets.
We have some partnerships with companies producing electric energy, which gives us rrsources for other investments.
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6. Which specific incentives could be offered to entrepreneurs who intend establishing their units in your municipality?
There are excellent conditions in a modern industrial park, with excellent access to the IP 4 (principal road 4).
Regarding taxes, the municipal corporate surcharge is not charged and we consider to reduce the IMI (municipal tax on property) and IMT (municipal tax on onerous transfer of property) for companies installed in the industrial park, as exemptions of the payment of licensing fees.
We also offer the sale of lots in the industrial park for a symbolic price, under the condition of the realisation of the investment and job creation.
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7. What is the availability of labour in the area?
The municipality has about 20.000 inhabitants, of which 35% are young and with technical qualifications, and most of them have 12 years of school education.
As there is a lack of investment in the region we are exporting human resources to the coast, and abroad to France, the United Kingdom and Spain.
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8. How is the municipality being promoted so as to attract investors?
I assume my concern to make us known outside of the municipality. During several years we carried out events with the intention of reaching beyond the municipality’s borders, e.g. the Easter fair in Valpaços, the chestnuts fair in Carrazedo de Montenegro and the fair of smoked food in São João da Corveira brought many visitors from everywhere in the country and abroad to the municipality. We want to further export the name Valpaços in order to demonstrate the strong potential of the region, namely the agricultural products like olive oil, wine and chestnuts. It is equally intended to promote companies and cooperatives that explore and commercialize these products, to support their dynamism, and to advertise their brands.
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9. Is there an intermunicipal perspective of investment due to the fact that the municipality is integrated in the Alto Tâmega Municipalities Association? And what advantages could that bring to the investor?
The region of Alto Tâmega is composed of very diversified and different parishes belonging to the municipalities of the terra fria and terra quente Transmontana. Valpaços is a municipality of transition, having unique characteristics of the cold and hot land. With this diversity every parish has something different to offer to potential investors. The municipalities of Alto Tâmega, sometimes together with Galicia (Spanish region), elaborates strategies to maximise the region’s potential, namely: the creation of better accessibility; promotion of natural resources like water and wind; promotion of tourism and the attraction of investment, namely the valuation of the thermal park of Pedras Salgadas and Vidalgo; the creation of inter-municipal companies, like EHATB (Hydroelectric of Alto Tâmega and Barroso) and the casino of Alto Tâmega.
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10. Is there a specific message you have for potential investors?
Valpaços is a young city, well organised, planned and centralised, with qualified manpower and excellent resources.
We look for investors that intend to maximise their business thus we offer all the necessary support for their installation and operation, including fiscal advantages, reductions and exemptions of taxes.
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