In a statement, the municipality added that 16 accommodation units are planned, with the investment of around 1.2 million euros being 100% supported by funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

The mayor of Braga, Ricardo Rio, said that the project will provide an “immediate and non-permanent” response so that the migrant population “is not subjected to undignified situations”.

“Every day, we are faced with the need to recruit new workers by the business community, which migrants respond to. While we all agree that immigration must be regulated and responsible, so as not to become a factor of social instability, it is also undeniable that it generates a very positive economic impact and is a source of progress and development for the municipality”, he stated.

According to the mayor, the municipality has been acting “to the limit of its possibilities” to ensure that conditions exist to receive migrants and “mitigate the consequences that they have for the territory”.

“This is a center that, in addition to welcoming, is a training space, providing tools for those who are here to find professional employment and develop their careers”, Ricardo Rio also said.

João Rodrigues, chairman of the board of directors of BragaHabit, highlighted that this project will solve the problem of a facility that has been abandoned for many years.

“The center will allow the rehabilitation of a building that has not served the population for decades and is located in a privileged area of ​​the municipality. At the same time, it responds to the need to find a solution to a reality that we cannot ignore and that may even intensify in the future”, he stated.