Chinese group awards €52 million tourism project to Portuguese construction group

A Chinese investment group has awarded Portuguese construction company DST group a €52 million contract to build what is being described as “a major tourism development on Portugal’s Alentejo coast, in a project designed to accommodate around 1,200 guests”.

The development, in Vila Nova de Santo André, is being financed by Chinese battery manufacturer CALB and will comprise 339 accommodation units, according to Portuguese business daily Negócios.

Construction will be carried out by ZETHAUS, DSTgroup’s industrialised construction division, in what the company says will be one of the largest applications of modular building techniques in Portugal’s tourism sector.

The project reportedly aims to expand accommodation capacity on the Alentejo coast, a region that has seen rapid economic, industrial and tourism growth in recent years, driven in part by major investment around the nearby Sines industrial and logistics hub.

Reports covering the Negócios story do not say this, but perhaps the resort is for workers from the battery plant. It has an air of ‘battery’ to the prototype design (see image above)

As Executive Digest explains, ZETHAUS will combine two- and three-dimensional industrialised construction methods, using prefabricated concrete components manufactured within the group alongside fully-fitted modular units containing bathrooms and kitchenettes.

According to DST group, the approach is expected to shorten construction times, improve quality control, increase efficiency and provide greater certainty over project delivery.

In other words, there is not so much focus on aesthetics, or any kind of ‘feel good holiday vibe’. There is not even a swimming pool…

“This project demonstrates that industrialised construction is no longer a theoretical concept but a practical reality capable of delivering large-scale, complex developments,” said Sérgio Xisto, DST group’s commercial director.

He added that CALB’s decision to select the ZETHAUS system represented “very significant recognition” of the company’s expertise in industrialised building methods.

The contract will involve several DST group companies. The parent construction business will oversee the overall project, while ZETHAUS will deliver the modular construction system, Prelabt, will manufacture prefabricated concrete elements, and DSTwill be responsible for engineering and technical installations.

This new concept in tourism construction, certainly by Alentejo standards, is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2028.

Source: Executive Digest/ Negócios online

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.