The Algarve Hub Azul hub will be created through the reconstruction and expansion of an existing building on the southern edge of the port area of ​​Olhão, on the eastern pier of the fishing port, with an investment of 4.4 million euros shared by the Fundo Azul and the local authority, following an application for funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

“It is an infrastructure that will meet the need for a space that enhances the sea cluster,” the mayor of Olhão, António Miguel Pina, said after the laying of the first stone of the work.

The infrastructure will function as a “living laboratory, essential for the development of services, goods and products in the areas of biotechnology, food and valorisation of endogenous marine resources”, according to the City Hall.

For António Miguel Pina, the territory between Faro and Olhão already has “the best in the country” related to the sea cluster, and the new building will allow the creation of a space that allows researchers, startups, among others, “to have a place to grow” even more.

“It will also be an important investment for employability in the Ria Formosa territories”, concluded the mayor of the Faro district.

Covering an area of ​​836 m2, several laboratories for testing and cultivating marine organisms will be installed, providing the hub with capacity for molecular biology, general biology or pathology, including new technologies and robotics, bioprospecting for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

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The new building will house rooms for researchers and technicians, areas for living marine organisms, various laboratories and areas reserved for companies, both for their technological development and for their intellectual property.

“With the creation of the Olhão Blue Hub, we aim to further encourage the creation of interaction zones between companies, promote their networking with science and knowledge centers, and sharing with universities and training centers,” reads the Blue Hub website.

This entity foresees that the Olhão building will have the capacity to incubate and install 15 companies and represent 90 jobs, mainly qualified employment, which will “grow and boost the local and regional economy, linked to the sea”.

The Algarve Blue Hub is formed from a consortium between the Municipality, the University of Algarve, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, Docapesca, and S2AQUAcoLAB - Collaborative Laboratory in Sustainable and Intelligent Aquaculture.