Unable to resist creating yet another money-wasting white elephant, Portimão council has thrown its weight, and ratepayers’ money, behind its latest poorly-thought-out idea – to turn part of the international autodrome into a ‘business incubator’ called ‘Startup Portimão.’
This will open on August 10th in two floors of the round building in the middle of the empty racetrack, a business which also is being propped up by taxpayers through Portugal Capital Ventures.
Startup Portimão, apart from being nowhere near the city which desperately needs reviving after years of unbridled and wasted expenditure, aims to welcome young companies operating in the energy, mobility and tourism sectors.
Portimão council is partly responsible for the creation of this ‘business incubator’ and claims companies will benefit from "the international character of the racetrack and the proximity to big brands and large clusters of people and potential customers, where the start-ups can test their prototypes and validate their products and services."
"This feature gives" Startup Portimão "a unique value proposition at a national level," rambles the wholly unconvincing press release.
The council says it is ‘in partnership’ with Parkalgar, which still owns the Autodrômo Internacional do Algarve, which has offered the empty building for free.
According to Isilda Gomes, the normally quite rational Portimão mayor, this project has the "clear objective of promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in the municipality of Portimão, creating employment and settling people in the area, providing the environment and services indispensable to the development of business."
Locals are not so sure and question the sense of trying to create a business incubator so far from the city’s established services and human resources.
Comments from locals include, “It’s tremendous nonsense, the biggest nonsense that can be committed. It's even criminal. The centre of the city is slowly dying and one of the projects that could contribute to a rejuvenation is put at the race track to the detriment of the city. Nobody wins with this.”
“This is a real crime against the city. It is a tragedy the incompetence of these people, the arrogance and the contempt with which they face the future of the city and the municipality. We must denounce this nonsense of taking start-up companies to the racetrack.”
“At the time this first was spoken about, Servir Portimão questioned the mayor about the location and the initiative because it is not part of a growth strategy and is just another measure that sounds good.”
"The 'free' nature of the contract does not exclude the possibility of the autodrome imposing certain charges on the lender. This is what the council has to clarify. Does the contract have clauses that oblige the camera to charge it? Of course it does.”
“I am curious about this contract, the date of signature is very close, the council opposition should formally request the draft, as soon as possible. It also would be useful and transparent of the council to inform us of the contracts and partnerships that it has with the Autodrome, as well as the council revenue that is being channelled there. As a citizen I would like to be aware of the situation.”
“The explanation is easy, my friends. It's the great quality of the politicians we have. This evil is national, it is not restricted to Portimão. Every Portuguese city is a Portimão. The same has happened in Faro, Loulé, etc ...”
What is behind this folly? The council is in trouble enough with its covert support of Parkalgar, a private business, and if there are fees payable by the council for this ‘business incubator’ idea, ratepayers and voters rightly should demand explanation, a business plan, projected revenue and expenditure, and an exit strategy.
Ultimately, young companies will chose whether to establish themselves miles from anywhere in the middle of a windswept racing track, or seek to grown in the bustling environment of a Portuguese city where recruiting staff and accessing infrastructure present no problems.
However, on the plus side, a table-tennis table already has been installed for the use of wannabe tec entrepreneurs.
'Startup Portimão' in the middle of the International Autodrome