Orlando Leal, Metropolitan Executive Officer the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP), argues that the work carried out in the last three years in the municipalities of Vila Nova de Gaia and Espinho, under the AMP Action Plan for Disadvantaged Communities, has made it possible to ‘conclude that, when institutions work together, communities win’.

In the session presenting the results of that strategic instrument of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), which aimed to combat poverty and social exclusion, and which ran from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025, Orlando Leal concluded that ‘the capacity to care for communities’ had been demonstrated, thanks to the close and integrated work of teams such as those of the Centre-South Local Technical Unit (Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho).

“This process is naturally part of a broader strategy of the Porto Metropolitan Area to promote territorial cohesion throughout our geographical area. Through these Local Territorial Units we seek to bring public policies closer to the territories, strengthen cooperation between municipalities and mobilise local partners for more integrated responses", emphasises Orlando Leal.

After three years of implementation of the Plan, the Metropolitan Executive Officer considers that “the work carried out throughout the territory shows how this metropolitan approach can generate solutions closer to the communities and with greater impact on the ground”.

‘Because the objective of the Porto Metropolitan Area is precisely that: to promote a more cohesive, inclusive region with more opportunities for all’, concluded Orlando Leal, highlighting ‘the very relevant contribution’ of the municipalities of Vila Nova de Gaia and Espinho.

The Action Plan for the Disadvantaged Communities of the AMP had a financial allocation of 121.5 million euros, the largest budget ever in the history of the Porto Metropolitan Area for social action, distributed equally among the 17 municipalities of the Porto Metropolitan Area.