The municipality has already established partnerships for new projects with the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, the Infante D. Henrique Nautical College and the Navy. The aim is to utilise the ecosystem of 25,000 companies and the various research institutions in the municipality.
It will be «a living laboratory, essential for the development of services, goods and products in the areas of biotechnology, food and the valorisation of endogenous resources from the sea» and will be born in the Olhão Fishing Port in 2025, following an application led by the Municipality of Olhão, which was recently approved.
The consortium agreement was signed on 11 March between the City Council, the University of Lisbon, Docapesca, the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere, and Fórum Oceano. The project will be the subject of a 31 million euro application for funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
Lisbon City Council has approved the signing of a concession contract with the Port of Lisbon Administration to install the Sea Hub at Pedrouços Dock, investing 26 million euros until 2098.
Matosinhos is one of the municipalities included in the Blue Hub”, which is the Infrastructure Network for the Blue Economy. The Hub Azul network, which includes Lisbon, Oeiras, Porto, Matosinhos, the Algarve, Peniche and the Azores, with a total investment of 87 million euros, will be funded by the PRR - Resolution and Resilience Plan.