With an embarassed silence still surrounidng the Algarve region's existing white elephants, the mayor of Albufeira is pushing ahead with his pet project, a maritime and oil services training centre in Paderne at an old factory site on the Ferrarias road at Mem Moniz.
Mayor, Carlos Silva e Sousa, said this is an "investment that he feels very proud of" and wishes to see the “enormous potential” realised.
"This is a sustainable and unifying project that will strengthen the name of Albufeira, internationally. The new training centre will link Paderne to the sea, (it is 10 kms from the nearest seawater) with the advantage of helping to combat the problems of inland parishes.”
“The specialised training in the rapidly expanding area of activities related to the sea will create non-seasonal jobs that will attract more people to a region that is the best place to live," said the mayor.
"The quality of training is the responsibility of the Association of Studies and Teaching of the Sea (AEMAR), which has been training in this area for more than 26 years, while the scientific research area is in partnership with the University of Algarve. We are going to benefit from the rehabilitation of the site which practically is in ruins," added the mayor, referring to the derelict estate of the bankrupt company, Fábrica de Cerâmica do Algarve (Faceal) which the council bought with taxpayers’ money in November, 2016.
There remains deep suspicion over the €2 million purchase price and the reason behind a sudden desire to have a maritime training centre 10 kilometres inland. The council, at the time, said the site was 'a bargain' as the property 'had been on the market for €3.5 million.' Such logic has tripped up the inexperienced many times before.
The mayor at least has stuck to the original idea of a school with connections to the ‘maritime economy’ - he mentioned connections to ‘the oil industry’ last Autumn but them remembered that he was meant to be anti-oil.
Despite this, the training centre does intend to run courses applicable to the oil industry, despite Portugal not having an oil industry, thus almost guaranteeing that successful graduates will move overseas for work unless they fancy a life working at the refineries of Sines.
The Tribunal de Contas's must have decided the mayor is of sound mind as the ‘4 Sea - International Academy’ project has officially been launched.
The development of the scheme now is the responsibility of Martrain, a 'non-profit cooperative dedicated to training and providing services in the maritime and port sector.'
Martrain has ‘the support of the Council of Albufeira,’ which has given the entity four of the 22 hectares at the site, for a period of 40 years.
According to the council, the training centre will have “specialised staff, modern facilities and technical means to ensure the provision of a diverse set of services and training in the operational, safety and environmental aspects related to port operations, nautical activities and the maritime industry.”
The wish list of courses includes: basic universal survival training, training for finding submerged helicopter, lifeboat training, underwater search courses, working in submerged confined spaces, handling extinguishers, basic safety, safety of driving seagoing vessels, safety in harbor tugs, hotel occupational safety on board ships, occupational safety on board ships and occupational safety on board RO-RO vessels.
The training is planned to take place using simulators for navigation and communications, workshops equipped with the latest equipment, which "will maximise employment in the international market, of Portuguese, especially on oil platforms."
In addition to training, the project will provide winter storage and repair of recreational boats, with on-the-job training in how to fix things.
Alexandre Delgado, president of Martrain, described the training centre as "a project that emerges from Paderne, from Albufeira and from the Algarve to the world from the vision of the mayor of Albufeira who believed in its viability from the first moment.”
