ABC project in Loulé helps «to diversify the Algarve's economy»

A “particularly important” project because it will “help diversify the Algarve's economy”. Manuel Hector, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, met, this Monday, June 1st, the advances of the “ABC Loulé Health Research Center”, a hub linked to research, health and science that will be born in this city. Vítor Aleixo, president of the Chamber, guaranteed that, "if all goes well", the works will begin "between the end of this year and the first quarter of 2021".

The Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) Loulé Health Research Center will be a building, with 3500 square meters, to be built on a plot of land near the Salão de Festas, encompassing the construction of a road connecting the entrance roundabout in Loulé, after Goncinha.

For now, the entire building project is still being elaborated, but much is already defined, such as the creation of an interior patio and the installation of photovoltaic panels.

In the building, which will cost 11 million euros and will be named after the Algarvean José Mariano Gago, the Public Bank of Células do Cordão Umbilical, which is currently in Porto, will be installed.

But this will not only be the wide-ranging valence to be installed there. The Seroteca Nacional will also have the city of Loulé as its headquarters, as well as the Center for Studies on the Safety of Medicines and Medical Devices.

In this context, a System of Drug Interactions will also be developed from the ABC Loulé Health Research Center.

As for the Algarve Entomological Research Centre, also to be installed in Loulé, it will study diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

Also in the county headquarters building, the Biobanco do ABC will be created, which will enable innovative investigations, the Pharmacovigilance Unit of the Algarve and Alentejo, a pole of the National Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation and a Center for Clinical Research of ABC.

Finally, there will be an Experimental Surgery Center, which will lead to the development of training courses for those who are learning or for those who are already in medical practice, and a Center for Health Literacy and Informatics.

As you can see, this is a huge project, presented last year, and which impressed, this Monday, June 1st, the minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education.

«The investment in Loulé, in biomedical research and in teaching medicine, is particularly important and I was very happy to understand that there will be a new hub here. We are looking to the future and to future generations," he said in statements to the Sul Informação.

After a presentation of the initiative, by Vítor Aleixo, president of the Loulé Chamber, the delegation visited the land where the ABC Loulé Health Research Center will be born, with the minister, who demonstrated the support of the tutelage for this project, leaving two ideas to be worked on.

«The challenge I face is that we associate this with the hiring of more doctors and researchers for the Algarve and that, at the same time, a major project of scientific culture is created. We associate this building with a science center because this is important», said the government official.

For the rest, Manuel Heitor believes that the ABC project will “leverage other activities”.

«Today we know that where there is a research center, many other institutions are created around it, from companies to public institutions. This is a sure bet. There is a need to diversify economies and, therefore, the Algarve will set an example here, diversifying the economic structure, in addition to tourism, bringing biomedical innovation, healthcare but also, of course, the associated business and industrial activity, for example, to medical equipment or biomedical devices,” he said.

Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé and who is a "great enthusiast" of the project, also believes that the ABC Loulé Health Reserche Center will help the Algarve to "turn a page", no longer being a region only connoted with the tourism.

«This is a project of national importance and I think it is a unique opportunity for the city of Loulé to rise to a new level. The rise of this level will mean that Loulé will become a center of science production, attracting highly qualified technicians in the area of medicine and science», he defended, in statements to the Sul Informação.

Moreover, according to the mayor, although there is still no "fixed date", if all goes well, the construction of the building, in Loulé, will begin "between the end of this year and the first quarter of next year".

This project also encompasses another hub: the Center Active Life, which will be created in Vilamoura, focused more on promoting active life and focused on seniors. In this building, a large room for international congresses will also be created.

As in the case of the ABC Loulé Health Research Center, the Active Life Center is «in the design phase». It is certain that the work on the Vilamoura building will begin later.

«Why this building in Loulé in the first place? It was an option of the Chamber of Loulé. This one configures a set of projects that will come here and these projects, in the area of research in biomedical areas, are a priority in relation to the other building that will have more of a vocation for health and well-being tourism», explained Vítor Aleixo.

Even so, he assured, «we are not going to wait for the construction of the Loulé building to finish, before the Vilamoura one starts».

On the part of Manuel Heitor, who also expressed his recognition of the ABC's work during the Covid-19 pandemic, the support for this entire project, which encompasses the two poles, is total.

«This project is particularly important because it is also associated with the University of the Algarve and because it is a particularly critical area. Let's work together to make it a reality», he concluded.

Photos: Barbara Caetano | Sul Informação