Starting Monday, merchants at the Graça Market can begin the procedure to receive financial compensation due to the loss of income registered during the construction project for the Graça Market’s roof, according to a press release from the Ponta Delgada City Council.
The regulation for awarding compensation, already approved in a council meeting and municipal assembly, followed criteria similar to those used by the Porto City Council for works at the Bolhão Market.
According to the Ponta Delgada municipality, “the payment of compensation will be made through monthly reference installments, the amount of which will be calculated as the difference between the average turnover of the concessionaire from May to September 2021 and the turnover in the month corresponding to the justified loss for compensation.”
The compensation “is awarded for the period between October 8, 2021, and the end of the current concession contract term scheduled for February 16, 2021, or, if the contractual relationship persists, until the completion of the Graça Market roof construction, provided that the concessionaire has remained active in their commercial activity at this establishment.”
The municipality adds that “to determine the turnover values used in calculating the compensation, only amounts related to gains demonstrably obtained from services effectively provided in the concession commercial space at the Graça Agricultural Market will be considered.”
When “due to the relocation provided by the municipality, there is proven additional harm to the merchant user, particularly with perishable products they usually sell, an additional 25% compensation will be added to the calculated indemnity amount.”
The city council ensures that the Office of Economic Studies and Business Support will provide technical assistance in preparing applications.
In November 2023, the mayor, Pedro Nascimento Cabral (PSD), revealed that the municipality had one million euros available to compensate the 54 market merchants who applied.
The regulation was initially approved in a council meeting in April, and the final version, after receiving feedback, was approved in June.
The renovation of the Graça Market roof was assigned and started in September 2021, with completion initially scheduled for August 2022.
On July 30, 2022, the Ponta Delgada city council announced the suspension of the work after being “notified by the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service that the project had been initiated without a favorable opinion from this entity regarding the Fire Safety project.”
The contract for completing the works was awarded on Thursday for 1.5 million euros to the company that had submitted the lowest bid but had been excluded from the tender.
The decision was made after the Court of Auditors (TdC) refused to grant approval due to the “incorrect exclusion” of the lowest bid.
The start of the works now awaits the TdC’s approval.
