Africa-Press – Cape verde. The expansion works at Porto Grande, in São Vicente, are expected to begin at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026, at least “in terms of organisation”. The investment is around 80 to 90 million euros and aims to triple the berthing area of the port infrastructure, the Minister of the Sea announced today. Jorge Santos was speaking to the press on the sidelines of a visit to Porto Grande do Mindelo and the Cruise Terminal, which is already in the final phase of construction. “This is the largest investment under the Global Gateway initiative with the European Union, in a conceptual loan. With the completion of the Cruise Terminal, work is already underway on what will be the major project. This is a project whose execution is expected to last between three and four years. The financial engineering with partners and the port administration is already underway, and there is a plan for the start of the work, which, in terms of organisation, should take place between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026”, he said. Cruise Terminal may receive ships in April
Regarding the Cruise Terminal, Enapor reaffirms that the works should be completed by the end of March. The CEO, Ireneu Camacho, guarantees that cruise ships will be able to dock at the new infrastructure from April.
“Yes, we will be able to dock the ships in April at the Cruise Terminal. It is important to stress that the terminal is ready to receive cruise ships. What we are doing at the moment is completing the land works to create the necessary conditions to receive the cruise passengers who dock at this terminal”, he explains.
During the visit, the Minister of the Sea was questioned by one of the construction company’s managers about the lack of skilled labor in the local market, as well as the emigration of some workers, which is why it was necessary to bring some teams from Portugal to make up for the deficit. Jorge Santos argues that the situation should be resolved by intensifying professional training in the construction sector.
“What we discussed with the contractors was the need to further intensify vocational training in the construction sector and its specialization. With the labor mobility observed at a national level, there is a tendency for part of the Cape Verdean workforce to emigrate. The solution will have to involve intensifying vocational training. We cannot forget that we still have 47 thousand young people without jobs or vocational training”, he stated.
The Government expects that the Cruise Terminal will strengthen the position of the island of São Vicente “in the cruise tourism segment, with a higher added value than what currently exists”.
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