Three of the properties are located in the district of Évora, more precisely the stations of Vale de Paio and Vimieiro, in the municipality of Arraiolos, and Montoito, in the municipality of Redondo.

The others are the Represas station, in the municipality and district of Beja, and the stations of Sousel, in the municipality of Sousel, and Vale do Peso, in the municipality of Crato, in the district of Portalegre.

The launching ceremony of the competitions for these six stations, out of a total of 26 properties, took place today at the Vale do Peso Station, in Crato.

The tenders for these first six station buildings include, in addition to passenger buildings, covered piers, warehouses, housing and adjacent land.

At the ceremony, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques, explained to journalists that the Revive Natureza program has been running positively, giving “encouragement” for this new phase dedicated to the railway.

“The demand for the assets launched in the first phase of REVIVE Natureza, with regard to the houses of tax guards and forestry posts, was immense”, he highlighted.

According to the government official, “more than 320 proposals were received”, which leads to believe that, “with regard to the railway”, there will be “the same appetite on the part of economic operators”.

Rita Marques considered that this sector of the market, linked to tourism in old railway stations, could be “another attraction” and “an asset” to join other areas such as river beaches or wine tourism.

Rail tourism will be able to leverage "greater tourist flows" in these regions and win a "greater number of nights" by tourists in these territories, he argued.

The Secretary of State for Tourism also said that, of the competitions launched within the scope of Revive Natureza, “18” are already closed, and that “96 jobs” should be created and “292 thousand euros”.

“This value is not very relevant from a budgetary perspective of the State. It is mainly about the upstream consequences, that is, in terms of the creation of jobs and the level of wealth in the territories”, he said.

This is the fourth phase of the launch of the Revive Natureza Fund, before competitions were launched for former forest guard houses and vacant former Fiscal Guard posts.

A source from the Revive Natureza Fund explained to Lusa, from a total of 43 properties of this nature identified, tenders have already been launched for 29 (18 of them closed).

Revive Natureza aims to refurbish and enhance derelict public properties, with the aim of making the conservation, recovery and safeguarding of the values ​​in question compatible with new uses that benefit local communities and attract new visitors and settle new residents.

This project, resulting from the signing of a protocol between Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) Património and the Revive Natureza Fund, includes the attribution of sub-concession rights for the railway stations with “a view to their rehabilitation and reopening” in the context of economic activities related to tourism.