The Portuguese government has acknowledged the Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIP)’s interest in utilizing the building located on Rua da Horta Seca in Lisbon as its headquarters in 2024, while also developing training programs for businesses. This information was confirmed by the Ministry headed by Miguel Pinto Luz.
The conditions for using the building are still being formulated. Since the property is public heritage, options such as leasing, surface rights, or sale are being considered.
The CIP will be responsible for the rehabilitation of the property, which will be vacated as government ministries relocate to Campus XXI.
The ministry also noted that the property will no longer be part of the REVIVE program, which was established to lease public buildings for tourism projects.
The announcement about the property’s transfer was made by the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Castro Almeida, during CIP’s 50th-anniversary celebrations last Thursday.
The CIP plans to launch training programs in Artificial Intelligence for executives, managers, employees, and students in collaboration with national universities, polytechnics, and research centers. The government has expressed support for this project, pledging to provide the former Ministry of Economy headquarters to CIP under terms currently being negotiated.
A CIP spokesman stated that the confederation and the Portuguese state are finalizing the terms for the long-term lease of the Horta Seca building, with no specific date set yet.
Currently, CIP’s operations are centered at its headquarters in Praça das Indústrias, Lisbon, near the Lisbon Congress Center (close to Rua da Junqueira).
Located in Chiado, one of the capital’s most expensive areas, the Palácio da Rua da Horta Seca is known as Palácio do Manteigueiro, named after its first owner, Domingos Mendes Dias, a trader from Montalegre who amassed wealth through butter wholesale.
Dating back to 1787, with designs by architect Manuel Caetano de Sousa, the property has had various owners and served as the private residence of Manuel de Arriaga, the first constitutionally elected President of the Republic, in 1911.
In 1975, João Cravinho’s Ministry of Industry and Technology became the first public institution to occupy Palácio do Manteigueiro.
In September 1990, the property was acquired by the Institute for Support of Small and Medium Enterprises and Investment (IAPMEI), according to the Ministry of Economy’s General Secretariat website.
