AICEP: three-billion-euro investments create 2336 jobs

Investments to the sum of 3.077 billion euros that will create 2,336 jobs, 643 of which highly qualified in the electrical mobility, health, chemical, agrifood, and mining industry sectors were presented during a ceremony in Sines, presided over by the Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. These investments were contracted via AICEP.

The largest investment of 2.065 billion euros is to build a lithium battery plant for cars and to store energy by the Chinese CALB in Sines. This will create 1,800 jobs, 497 of which are highly qualified.

The second, 514 million euros, is o build a sustainable lithium refining plant by the Portuguese firm Lift One in Estarreja. This will create 134 new jobs, 34 of which are highly qualified.

The third, 313 million euros, is to build a unit to extract and produce spodumene concentrate, an essential component in lithium batteries and equipment, by the British firm Savannah Lithium in Boticas. This will create 136 new jobs, 62 of which are highly qualified.

The fourth, 109.5 million euros, is to build cathode active materials for electric batteries and relational equipment by the Danish firm Topsoe Battery Materials in Sines. This will create 62 jobs, 15 of which are highly qualified.

The fifth, 39.5 million euros, is to build a factory to produce PET film by incorporating recycled materials and biological base materials for food and health packaging by the Portuguese firm Everbio in Portalegre. This will create 154 new jobs, 21 of which are highly qualified.

The sixth, 32.9 million euros, is to build a dry food for cats and dogs plant by the Belgian firm United Petfood in Rio Maior. This will create 50 jobs, 14 of which are highly qualified.

As a whole, the investments presented and contracted via AICEP benefit from investments to the sum of 699.7 million euros.

Stability and flexibility

At the ceremony, the Prime Minister claimed that "the companies, without jeopardising their workers’ essential rights, must be sufficiently flexible in terms of their management to be more profitable", as "only by being profitable will they be able to pay more".

Luís Montenegro stressed that the Government "does not want to hurt anyone’s fundamental rights nor penalize the country’s social equilibrium". "Quite on the contrary, we want to improve it but to do so, we need this [change] mindset.

"Those who are stuck, those who fear change, those who do not dare take steps, which are safe steps, yet sometimes we need to ride through these transitions, those are left behind", he noted.

The Prime Minister claimed that "we want an economy with sold labour relations, guaranteeing workers’ rights, guaranteeing labour stability, yet also guaranteeing that the labour market is flexible enough for companies to be competitive".

"I see a lot of people ask for better wages, and rightly so. I see a lot of people ask for lower taxes and higher disposable income, and rightly so. But for this to happen, we need to generate more wealth and for that we need to be more productive, do more than others, for that we need better performance and more agility", he said.

The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion Castro Almeida and the Secretary of State for the Economy João Rui Ferreira attended the ceremony alongside the Prime Minister.

The investment projects contracted by AICEP in 2025 stood at 3.58 billion euros with a contracted incentive of 803 million and represented the creation of 6,600 jobs, a fifth of which qualified.

Investment Contracts upwards of three billion euros and 2300 new jobs