The €200 million package approved by the government to support the areas affected by major fires will be fully implemented by June 2023, deploying 40 to 50% of the funds in Serra da Estrela.
The information was released this Saturday by the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, speaking in Manteigas, Guarda district, one of the municipalities affected by the Serra da Estrela fire.
At a press conference after a meeting with the local authorities, the minister recalled that the 200 million package approved by the government on Thursday includes 14 municipalities, namely those of Serra da Estrela (Celorico da Beira, Covilhã, Gouveia, Guarda, Manteigas and Seia) and eight more that recorded burnt areas of more than 4,500 hectares.
“We will never be able to replace what has been lost. Fire destroys and kills, but we must take advantage of these funds and be united”he said, referring to the outlined package of measures “pretty diversified” and that they are aimed at affected municipalities, families and businesses.
As he explained, the total amount will be distributed through emergency measures and through measures of resilience and competitiveness, with a large part being non-refundable, while others have tariffs for out-of-pocket payments.
The first are worth EUR 112 million and will be implemented by the end of 2022, while the resilience and competitiveness measures, to be implemented by June 2023, have a financial envelope of EUR 88 million.
In the case of emergency relief, measures are foreseen to stabilize the areas, clean water pipes, support municipal equipment and infrastructure that has burned down.
A tourism promotion campaign is also planned in this section, with the aim of boosting local tourism, which has been severely affected.
In terms of resilience and competitiveness, the official indicated that work will continue on soil stabilization and cleaning of water pipes and actions to make villages safer.
On the other hand, he explained that there will be support to help diversify the economic base, with support for businesses in these areas.
As he said, in the economic component there will be support for investment projects of up to EUR 200 million (with a support rate of up to 60% non-refundable) and measures aimed at larger projects, the support rate of which will range from 30 to 40% non-refundable -refundable.
He added that there will also be a line to support the loss of revenue in tourism, one of the sectors most affected in Serra da Estrela.
Added to this are measures to support the hiring of personnel, support for agriculture and the replacement of productive equipment.
In response to a claim filed locally, he explained that support will also be given to smallholder farmers, who had no registered activity, but who also earned income from farming the land.
In that case, a social security benefit is provided for an amount of 1,153 euros per family.
With regard to the first houses that have burned down (14 in the total of municipalities covered), Ana Abrunhosa said the aid will be calculated on a case-by-case basis and will take into account insurance values.
Ana Abrunhosa also noted that the €200 million package does not yet include the Serra da Estrela Revitalization Plan, which will be implemented after June 2023.
In this section, a working group will be set up to prepare this program and the measures may include the remaining municipalities of the Intercommunal of Beiras and Serra da Estrela, as it is a regional programme.
The official said the plan is to be presented in June 2023 and will be developed territorially by the Center for Regional Coordination and Development (CCDRC), in conjunction with other government and municipal entities.
“It will have lines of action, concrete measures, values, timetables and those responsible for its implementation,” he said, explaining that a mission structure would need to be created for that plan.
85 million losses
The government also announced that it had suffered losses of about 85 million euros from the major fires, affecting 57,000 hectares, between Serra da Estrela and other municipalities.
“On the estimate of damage identified so far, after the 2022 fires, we point to a withdrawal of 85 million euros in 14 municipalities,” said Ana Abrunhosa, speaking in Manteigas, Guarda district, one of the municipalities affected. due to the Serra da Estrela fire outbreak.
At the press conference after a meeting with the local authorities, the official stated that the damage assessment concerns 14 municipalities, namely those of Serra da Estrela (Celorico da Beira, Covilhã, Gouveia, Guarda, Manteigas and Seia), which were affected by the great fire from August.
Also included are eight municipalities with a burned area equal to or greater than 4,500 hectares: Carrazeda de Ansiães (Bragança), Mesão Frio (Vila Real), Murça (Vila Real), Vila Real, Albergaria-a-Velha (Aveiro), Alvaiázere (Leiria), Ansião (Leiria) and Ourem (Santarém).
In total, according to Ana Abrunhosa, a burnt area of 57,000 hectares is at stake, 28,000 of which are in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park (PNSE).
The damage list includes public and private damage, such as the loss of 14 permanent homes, worth an estimated €1.5 million.
There are also claims records at 36 companies, with an estimated loss of five million euros, as detailed.
Source: DN
