THE MINISTER of the Economy, Manuel Pinho accused some politicians at the weekend of making disgraceful comments during negotiations between the government and Swedwood, the company that owns IKEA, over plans to open a new factory in Portugal.
The Minister said that “this investment is a lesson for those opposition politicians that should be dedicating themselves more to Portugal’s external image and foreign investment than to making bitchy comments”.
Investment
IKEA is to invest 135 million euros, creating 1,550 new jobs in the Ferreira region of the Alentejo.
“This investment is not a fairytale, it is a very important investment for an industry that employs 60,000 workers,” he said.
According to the minister, the furniture industry “had always been very traditional and focused on the internal Portuguese market. A big gamble has been made in modernisation, design and marketing and the IKEA investment really is a banner for an industry that wants to move forward,” he said.
The investment contract will be in place by October 2010 and was signed by the president of Pacos de Ferreira, Pedro Printo and the Director-General of Swedwood Portugal, Lennart Westrin.
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