The announcement regarding the availability of the property was made by the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Castro Almeida, during an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of CIP held on Thursday evening.
Referring to CIP’s initiative to launch “training programs in Artificial Intelligence for executives, managers, workers, and students in partnership with universities, polytechnics, and national research centers,” the minister stated that the government will support the project “to the extent of making available to CIP, under conditions currently being defined, the former headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, at Rua da Horta Seca.”
“CIP and the Portuguese State are currently finalizing the details for the transfer of the Horta Seca building for an extended period subject to a set of obligations,” said a spokesperson for the business confederation, noting that no date has yet been established.
CIP currently has its services concentrated at the headquarters in Praça das Indústrias, Lisbon, near the Lisbon Congress Centre (close to Rua da Junqueira).
Contacted by Lusa, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy said that the model for making the property available “is still being designed.”
The Horta Seca Palace, located near Largo Camões, is known as the Palácio do Manteigueiro, a reference to its first owner, Domingos Mendes Dias, a merchant from Montalegre who made his fortune in wholesale butter trade.
Dated 1787 and designed by architect Manuel Caetano de Sousa, the property has had various owners, serving as the private residence in 1911 for the first constitutionally elected President of the Republic, Manuel de Arriaga.
In 1975, the Ministry of Industry and Technology, led by João Cravinho, was the first public body to be installed in the Palácio do Manteigueiro.
In September 1990, ownership of the property was acquired by the Institute for the Support of Small and Medium Enterprises and Investment (IAPMEI), according to the website of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy.
