Tomorrow the City Council will receive the investor Sam Pitroda, who will present the Cidade do Conhecimento project. A new Setúbal, planned for Vale da Rosa.
The Cidade do Conhecimento project, evaluated as an investment of 700 to 800 million euros, has just been proposed to the Setúbal City Council by the world-renowned investor and philanthropist Sam Pitroda.
The new city will be located in the Vale da Rosa, if all the obligations imposed by the municipality in the specifications are accepted, and will have the seal of the architect Norman Foster, author of projects such as Wembley Stadium, the London City Hall building, Hong Kong International Airport or the project for the new Real Madrid stadium.
According to the architect Fernando Travassos, who is working with the executive of the Setúbal City Council and the team of the Indian investor, “the duo Pitroda and Foster will put Setúbal on the international map, through a project for 180 hectares that includes poles of scientific research, housing, hotels and leisure spaces, with a view to total sustainability ”.
Sustainability will in fact be the key word in the strategic plan of this project, which in this way stands out in the face of “Nova Setúbal”, which should occupy the same place in Vale da Rosa, and which would provide only housing and a new stadium for the Vitória Futebol Clube. “This project would leave that area as a dormitory, far from access and without added value for its profitability”, explains the architect.
“With the City of Knowledge, we will have the opposite. A set of services that complement each other and integrate other valences in the region ”.
This is the case of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, which gains the possibility of placing academic research centers in the new Knowledge City. “As well as Universidade Nova de Lisboa, which, due to the scientific research pole at Monte da Caparica, will be one of the partner entities called to integrate this city, alongside other internationally renowned academic institutions”, says Fernando Travassos.
Dores Meira expects project with “weighted enthusiasm”
Currently classified as a rustic building, the land in Vale da Rosa, owned by the real estate fund of Millenium Gestão de Activos, can only be the place of the City of Knowledge “if the sustainability of the project is proven”, defends the Mayor of Setúbal , Maria das Dores Meira.
The mayor explains that, “this is not the first time that Setúbal has been sought out by international investors with fantastic ideas, which afterwards are not feasible on the ground, such as the marina project, presented by the group from Macanese David Chow, which came to be adapted and shared by several investors ”.
This is one of the reasons why Dores Meira takes the enthusiasm for this project “thoughtfully” and awaits the investor’s final plan, which should take into account “an extensive list of obligations and a strategic plan that will not be easy to fulfill, to guarantee the total sustainability of the project ”.
Despite the thoughtful enthusiasm for the future Knowledge City, the mayor recognizes that the project will resolve “the amalgamation of ideas that was gravitating around that area and that now it can create a unit, with what is already being developed, such as the Wake Park project, whose construction should start this year ”.
As for the City of Knowledge, there is still no prediction of when it will start to be built, taking into account the initial phase in which the process is. One thing is certain, Sam Pitroda’s strong will to invest in Setúbal. “Because even before contacting the municipality, Pitroda already had a team of consultants on the ground working on the acquisition and the possible constraints from the environmental point of view and spatial planning”.
From a man of science to an adviser to Indian Prime Minister
Satyan Pitroda, known worldwide with Sam Pitroda, was born in Titlagarh, Odisha, India, into a family deeply influenced by the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.
He completed his studies at Vallabh Vidyanagar, in Gujarat, and did his masters in Physics and Electronics at Maharaja Sayajirao University, in Vadodara. In 1964, Pitroda went to the USA, where he did another master’s degree, this time in Electrical Engineering, from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
He currently holds about 100 technology patents worldwide and is recognized worldwide as a philanthropist of science.
Pitroda has also served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of India and chairman of the National Knowledge Commission.
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