The company Nini – Design Center, Lda. wants to continue to remain at the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, located in the Port of Funchal, for another 18 years, intending to pay for the property the monthly amount of 4,100 euros plus VAT.
APRAM – Administração dos Portos da Região Autónoma da Madeira, S.A. made public yesterday, through a public notice published in the Official Journal of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the request submitted by the Nini Design Center to continue to explore the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, a property with strong heritage and tourist value, with a total area of 1,198 m², Including about 802 m² of floor space, which currently houses a restaurant and bar, as well as an exhibition area. The concession also covers a second support building, with 80 m² of gross area, located next to the escarpment, intended for changing rooms, storage and support equipment for the services to be developed in the space.
According to the notice, the applicant company proposes to pay APRAM an annual consideration of 49,200 euros, plus VAT at the legal rate in force, an amount that will be paid in monthly instalments. The proposed amount corresponds to around 4,100 euros per month plus VAT for the use of a set of large spaces and a privileged location, in the heart of Funchal’s breakwater.
In the concession application, the company undertakes to carry out a set of interventions with a view to improving the infrastructure, namely the waterproofing and improvement of the built areas, the renovation of floors, changing rooms and sanitary facilities, the modernisation of lighting, electrical installations and air conditioning systems, as well as the replacement of the lift between the bar floor and the restaurant.
Under the legal terms, APRAM now invites other interested parties to submit alternative requests or objections to the award of the concession, within 30 working days from the date of publication of the notice (6th of January 2026). If other expressions of interest arise, a tender procedure will be triggered, in which the company Nini – Design Centre Lda will benefit from the right of first refusal provided for by law.
In April 2015, DIÁRIO reported that the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, better known as Molhe da Pontinha, would be transformed into a Design Centre by interior designer Nini Andrade Silva. Approximately 1,500 m2 was ceded, at the time, for a period of five years, with an extension scheduled for another five years. The base price of the rent in the competition was 2,500 euros/month. The space was inaugurated on the 16th of November 2015.
Today, on the Design Centre’s official website, Nini Andrade highlights that the infrastructure is a “tribute to Madeira, its culture and the sea that shapes it.”
Designed by Nini Andrade Silva, this centre combines exhibition, gastronomy and unique sensory experiences. The Nini Andrade Silva Design Centre is a place of meeting and sharing endowed with unique services and spatial valences, such as a permanent exhibition area, shop, catering service and a restaurant. In addition to documenting the designer’s career and work, the Design Centre intends, in an active and dynamic way, to establish itself as a hub and laboratory of ideas, as well as a centre for development and innovation where all artistic expressions and thoughts can meet. The existing permanent exhibition, which is part of Nini Andrade Silva’s private collection, is at the origin of the creation of the Design Centre, a project whose exhibition discourse allows us to explain, in an unprecedented way, the history and culture of Madeira and its strong connection to the history of the sea.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira=weekly.com
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