In today’s extraordinary meeting, the city executive approved the draft contract to be established with Onworks Construções, the only company to submit a proposal for the second public tender launched by the City Council, following the first tender which had no bids.
The project is fully funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), with a completion deadline set for June 2026 to secure this funding.
The center is set to be developed on the street of the shipyards in the Monserrate parish, featuring ten rooms with a maximum capacity of 20 users.
The new facility will be housed in a building that previously served as a riding hall for the Cavalry Battalion 9 of the Army.
The project involves the refurbishment of a building to accommodate a reception area where welcome, screening, and a waiting room for users will be arranged.
The same building will also host a “human resources area, featuring a service room and a technicians’ office, as well as a multipurpose area for activities such as exhibitions, recreational workshops, or training sessions, along with restroom facilities and a staff room.”
The plan includes constructing a new building at the same site, connected to the existing one, providing a “self-service dining room, with meals supplied through an external catering contract, restroom facilities, and locker rooms, along with a kitchen and pantry.”
Besides the lodging for users, the new construction will include restroom and locker facilities, a self-service laundry, closet area, and supplies storage.
Since 2021, the facility has been operating in containers with seven slots for homeless individuals.
Despite it being an extraordinary meeting without a preliminary agenda, independent councilor Eduardo Teixeira expressed his protest at the start of the proceedings, arguing that the topics under discussion were “institutional advertising and electoralism.”
Teixeira, who is leading the Chega list for the Viana do Castelo City Council elections on October 12, indicated he would refer the matter to the National Elections Commission (CNE).
The Socialist majority found the councilor’s arguments to be unfounded and proceeded with the meeting.
