The Secretary of State for Internal Administration announced today that the project for the new GNR training center and territorial command, which will be built in Portalegre, is awaiting approval from the Court of Auditors.
The new GNR Training Center and Territorial Command in Portalegre is classified by the Secretary of State for Internal Administration, Telmo Correia, as an “anchor” project, but also “fundamental, important and interesting”.
“The information and the state of play we have is that it is currently awaiting approval from the Court of Auditors, and the government will do its utmost to ensure that we can move forward as quickly as possible,” he said.
Telmo Correia was speaking to journalists in Portalegre, on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony for 324 new GNR soldiers, who are part of the 55th guards training course, made up of a total of 457 trainees.
The GNR’s current training center in Portalegre is housed in the São Bernardo Convent, under an agreement between the ministries of Defense and Internal Affairs.
The new facilities for the training center and territorial detachment, whose investment is expected to amount to 25 million euros, according to António Costa’s government in 2023, will occupy an 11-hectare plot of land in the industrial zone,
At this stage, the municipality has already completed the transfer of the land, infrastructure and accessibility.
The Portalegre council’s investment in this project, which also involved the expansion of the industrial zone, amounted to three million euros, 85% of which was subsidized by EU funds.
Speaking to journalists, the Secretary of State for Internal Affairs also said that following the vacation period, the government hopes to present in the next legislative session a reinforcement of the criminal framework for assaults and offenses against security forces.
“It is regrettable that the increase in this type of crime has been very large and very significant, we need to give a political signal, a signal to society that committing an offense, an aggression, an act of violence against a member of the security forces, because they represent the authority of the state, is more serious than in other cases,” he said.
