The reconstruction of the Portimão Retail Park, destroyed by fire last September, will cost an estimated €20 million, money that needs to be collected from various insurers, according to the president of the real estate company that manages the site.
The fire destroyed outlets of Continent, Moviflor, Radio Popular, DeBorla, Staples, Aki and Decathlon but the rebuilding is held up by complex negotiations involving multiple insurers.
"Our intention is to rebuild the commercial space as soon as possible, but for that we need about €20 million," said Rui Alpalhão, the boss of FundBox, the company that runs the retail park.
According to the official, his company "has no capital to start rebuilding, and is dependent on insurance payments from insurers."
"We are trying to maximize the compensation payable but has not been an easy process because many insurers are involved, some of them foreign," according to the mildly xenophobic Alpalhão.
The commercial area of about 15,000 square metres bears testament to the devastating September fire, piled high with much of the debris from the seven destroyed stores.
Alpalhao said that the removal of the debris has been done piecemeal by the various insurance companies.
A month long investigations by the Judicial Police concluded that the fire was as a result of overheating in an electrical installation which turned into a fire that spread rapidly to the neighbouring stores.
