Commission awards ECU 203 million for development of the Alqueva area (Portugal)
At the initiative of Mrs. Monika Wulf-Mathies, Commissioner responsible for regional policy, the Commission has approved funding of ECU 203 million for the "Specific Programme for the Integrated Development of the Alqueva Area" (PEDIZA), Portugal, which includes the important Alqueva dam project. The aim of the PEDIZA Programme is to mobilize around the construction of the Alqueva dam, and in around 40% of the territory of the region, all those factors that can contribute to economic development so as eventually to overcome the under-development from which the region has suffered for decades. In the long term, the programme is expected to create some 20,000 jobs. The total cost of the project from now until 2000 will be ECU 376.7 million. The Community will provide ECU 128.1 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ECU 70 million from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and ECU 5 million from the European Social Fund (ESF). In total, the Community contribution to the PEDIZA Programme (ECU 203.1 million) will represent 54% of the public expenditure involved. This is one of the largest regional development projects so far financed by the European Union during the 1994-1999 period.
Countries
Portugal