View of the old Lisnave lands
View of the old Lisnave lands

One catamaran, 50 real estate professionals and just one aim: to explore the land of the three projects that make up Lisbon South Bay. With all the conditions ready for another APPII Networking TRIP, it’s time to set off for our destination, the land of the Baía do Tejo (BT), to discover the future Cidade da Água (Margueira, old Lisnave) and the Barreiro and Seixal Business Parks. Sérgio Saraiva, administrator of the Baía do Tejo, spoke of the importance of “connecting people, businesses and other entities with the land”.

The visit started in a catamaran, with our departure set for 10:30 at the Cais do Sodré ferry terminal, on our way to Cacilhas. First the river and then the land. The journey along the edge of the river Tejo was organised and promoted by APPII and the host company BT, responsible for the renewal of these riverside lands.

It was during lunch in the Messe de Quadros Superior in the old CUF (Alfredo da Silva’s Companhia União Fabril which now houses the Business Centre), that Sérgio Saraiva, one of the administrators of BT, spoke with idealista/news. The manager spoke of the importance of the initiative and the need to create synergies capable of encouraging construction in an urban area in the outskirts of the Portuguese capital, a “Greater Lisbon”, able to compete with other European and world cities.

Why a networking trip and why is the initiative so important?

APPII is a very important association in Portugal. It brings together the main real estate developers and investors in Portugal and is also a gateway for foreign investors, who have contributed so much to the economic growth of the country. Organising this networking trip allows the developers and investors to get to know better what is happening in Portugal at the real estate level.

“The Baía do Tejo land in southern Lisbon bring together what is, most likely, the biggest real estate project in Portugal right now”

It would be unthinkable for a project like BT’s, which is very relevant on both a regional and national stage, not to promote a visit like this one today. This project has allowed us to bring more than 50 people to get to know the Baía do Tejo land in southern Lisbon which bring together what is, most likely, the biggest real estate project in Portugal right now.

Who are these people?

They are all associates of the APPII and among them are investors looking for quality real estate projects in Portugal, partners and service providers. At heart, these networking trips hope to connect people, businesses and entities with land they don’t know. Over the course of the day and the trip to new areas, they will exchange contact information.

It allows greater contact with the reality that these projects are born out of.

Any real estate project needs to be felt. We need to go to the places, understand how they work locally, what’s around them, what the people are like. When we see pamphlets or promotional films, we always imagine something but it’s different from feeling it on the land.

These lands in particular were not very well-known. Thanks to the promotional strategy we started in 2014, when the Lisbon South Bay brand was created, that all changed since it was about an unprecedented union involving not only BT, the owner of the land to the south of Lisbon, but also the three municipalities of Barreiro, Seixal and Almada.

We understand that nothing can get done if the partners don’t share a common vision. In this case, we’ve taken an extra step by managing the brand as a united group.

Do you want to promote a global Lisbon?

These three projects, which are in three different locations in the south of Lisbon, are different from the rest, as well as being different from each other. We believe that Lisbon has to rise up to become a competitive city on the global stage because these days, competition isn’t so much between countries as between cities.

“If you go to London you’ve got ‘Greater London’ and what we want to create here is a ‘Greater Lisbon’. We believe these lands can make a really important contribution.”

In that sense, what we did, even before creating the brand, was to establish a society with Invest Lisboa, an investment agency of the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (CML), which allows these lands to contribute to a stronger Lisbon Metropolitan Area. That’s the goal – to create a strong and sound metropolitan area.

Does the metropolitan area have to stop working at two speeds (on two sides)?

That too. Obviously, it has to involve the southside of Lisbon. They have the connectivity, the bridges, the means of transport … but for Lisbon to be able to compete with other cities, it has to grow within its limits. What I mean is that Lisbon doesn’t have to lose its authenticity, its autonomy as a city and a brand; the only thing it has to do is grow in the region. For that reason we are promoting alongside Lisbon, not with a competing with it but with a view to the common good, with the aim of promoting the region.

If you go to London you’ve got ‘Greater London’ and what we want to create here is a ‘Greater Lisbon’. We believe these lands can make a really important contribution.

How?

In these two business parks alone, Barreiro and Seixal, there are around 200 businesses. There aren’t many parks in Portugal with 200 businesses, so we are already contributing really strongly to the regional economy. What we want is obviously to take it further, not only these parks ready to take in any activity, but also the Cidade da Água real estate project in Almada, which is going to change the face and the perception that we have of the southside.

"There aren’t many parks in Portugal with 200 businesses, so we are already contributing really strongly to the regional economy."

When we look from the Praça do Comércio towards the southside of Lisbon today, we see very little activity. That’s why we want to create new icons and quality urban areas. Lisbon is effervescent and it needs big projects, fast. The Cidade da Água will surely make an enormous contribution in that sense.