Miguel Albuquerque admits that the economy of the Autonomous Region of Madeira could suffer due to the impact of the new coronavirus and expects Madeiran companies to be covered by the credit line announced yesterday by the Prime Minister.
The head of the Madeiran executive said that he has the support of the Republic as the credit line, announced yesterday by the Prime Minister, António Costa, amounts to 100 million euros and will be used to support Madeiran companies suffering the effects of the epidemic.
Determined to “not stop economic growth,” Miguel Albuquerque admitted that “there may be some contraction in the economy, namely in tourism that has already had repercussions in the cancellation of flights from Italy to Porto Santo. However, the President of Madeira expects that “the peak will be reached quickly” giving both Madeira and Porto Santo time to recover for the rest of the year.
The President was speaking at the end of the visit to the Unilift company, based in Caniço, which has a turnover of 2 million euros in 2019 and employs 11 people. The initiative is part of the Economy Roadmap, which has taken the President of the Regional Government and the regional secretary of Economy, Rui Barreto, to visit several companies. At the end of the tour, a report will be drawn up with suggestions from various entrepreneurs, which will then be considered and deemed feasible will be replicated in the next regional budget.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com