ABOUT REVIVE

I – OBJETIVES AND PRE-REQUISITES

State heritage properties are a very important part of the historical, cultural and social identity of a country, and make a rich and distinctive contribution to the attractiveness of a region and the development of tourism.

Recognizing that it is a strategic asset, present throughout the national territory, and the importance of ensuring its preservation, valuation and disclosure as well as a more wide access to its enjoyment, Government has launched REVIVE program, which opens up properties to private investment to develop them as tourist attractions by concessioning them through public tendering.

This joint initiative of the Ministries of Economy, Culture, Finance and Defense, aims to promote and streamline the processes of rehabilitation and valorization of vacant public property, making it suitable for tourism-oriented economic activity, enhance the attractiveness of regional destinations, deconcentrate demand and develop various regions of the country, generating wealth and jobs, thus contributing to the economic and social cohesion of national territory.

The REVIVE program is conducted by a technical team that includes representatives of the Cultural Heritage Department (Património Cultural, I.P.), the Treasury and Finance Department (ESTAMO – Participações Imobiliárias, S.A.), the Nacional Defense Resources Department and the Portuguese Tourism Board, with the involvement of the municipalities in which the properties are located, which, together, safeguard, through tendering, the classified heritage and the use of properties suited to the development needs of each region.

It is also a pillar of the REVIVE program to restore heritage with respect for the relevant architectural, cultural, social and environmental values.

The model  provided for in REVIVE program therefore involves high-value public properties that are not being enjoyed by local communities and their visitors, by undertaking private investment, making them apt for use in an economic activity, namely in areas related to hotels, restaurants, cultural activities, or other forms of entertainment and commerce, preserving the values and pre-requisites that determined the domain of these assets and their public property, while also finding mechanisms that allow the pursuit of the objectives of rehabilitation and valorization of assets targeted.

II – TECHNICAL TEAM
The REVIVE program is conducted by a broad multi-disciplinary team comprising, permanently, representatives of entities with competences over public assets and tourism, namely:
 
- Cultural Heritage Department;
- Treasury and Finance Department;
- Nacional Defense Resources Department;
- Portuguese Tourism Board (Turismo de Portugal, I.P.)
 
Occasionally, when the characteristics, heritage context or domain status of the properties justify such, the technical team shall include representatives from bodies from other State sectors, namely Environment, Justice, Internal Administration or Agriculture.
 
The REVIVE Technical Team is responsible for the selection of assets and, along with the respective municipalities, for the preparation of the concession tender documents, for carrying out the necessary preparatory works and for conducting the tender procedures, in which the relevant values in presence and public interest must be safeguarded, as well as the adequacy of the type of use of the properties to the development needs and strategies of each region.
 
The Treasury and Finance Department, with respect to that which it is responsible for, and in conjunction with all other entities, shall provide all technical support in any way deemed pertinent within the scope of its legal powers relating to the management of State assets. The same applies to the Nacional Defense Resources Department, with respect to the properties under its management.
 
The Cultural Heritage Department and the Regional Culture Departments shall follow up on the development of the program, defining the overall parameters of the work done on the properties, in accordance with the respective legal protection category, and offering all the necessary technical support within the scope of its legal powers related to safeguarding and protecting cultural heritage.
 
Turismo de Portugal, I.P. shall provide all technical assistance deemed necessary for meeting the objectives of REVIVE program, and it shall disclose the public tender procedures through the means of communication available to it and that are deemed appropriate for this purpose, actively participating in attracting interested investors, and framing, in the available financial support instruments, the investment to be made in the restoration of the properties, under the terms and conditions defined in the applicable frameworks.
 
The REVIVE Technical Team also counts on the collaboration of the Art History Institute of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in charge of drafting the historical-artistic memorandum of each property covered by the program.
III – INCLUSION OF REAL ESTATE IN REVIVE

The inclusion of real estate in the REVIVE program is determined by the members of the Government competent to this effect, depending on their affectation, upon proposal or favorable opinion of the REVIVE Technical Team, and always with the agreement of the municipalities where the real estate is located.

The REVIVE program may incorporate real estate with architectural, historical, cultural or other important value, owned by municipalities, public institutes or public companies, following a favorable opinion of the REVIVE Technical Team and the agreement of Government members responsible for finance, tourism and culture.

IV – TENDERS
The REVIVE concession contracts shall always be preceded by a tender procedure or a restricted tender procedure by prior qualification, that ensure transparency, competition and international advertising to the process of selection of concessionaires.
 
Before the tenders are launched, the Technical Team shall ensure the following preparatory work:
 
- The drafting of architectural and topographical inventories of the properties;
- Settlement of the legal and registration situation of the properties, when necessary;
- Execution of heritage studies for defining the overall parameters for intervening in classified heritage;
- The drafting of a historical-artistic memorandum for each property.
 
The tender procedures shall incorporate a series of technical and legal premises for safeguarding the public values present in each property.
 
The procedures concerning properties owned or ceded to the municipalities are launched and conducted by the city councils with follow-up by the REVIVE Technical Team. 
V – LICENSING OF WORKS

Once the tender has been concluded, the licensing of the works shall follow the procedure stipulated in Decree-Law no. 555/99 of 16 December, in its current wording (Urbanization and Edification Legal Framework), and in Decree-Law no. 39/2008 of 7 March, in its current wording (Tourism Resorts Legal Framework), when dealing with hotel establishments, or in Decree-Law no. 128/2014 of 29 August, in its current wording (Local Accomodation Legal Framework), when dealing with local accomodation  establishments.

Interventions that involve properties that have been classified as being of national interest, that are jointly classified, in the process of being classified or located in the respected General Zones or Special Protection Zones are subject to a binding opinion from the Cultural Heritage Department (Património Cultural, I.P.) (cf. namely Law no. 107/2001 of 8 September, which establishes that the bases for the policy and framework for protecting and adding value to cultural heritage, and Decree-Law no. 140/2009 of 15 June, which establishes the applicable legal framework of the studies, projects, reports, works or interventions involving classified cultural assets or assets that are undergoing classification).

VI – INVESTMENT ATTRACTION
Turismo de Portugal, I.P. shall ensure disclosure of REVIVE program and that there is active participation in attracting investors, namely through:
 
- Websites:
     REVIVE: https://revive.turismodeportugal.pt/en;
     Invest In Tourism: https://invest.turismodeportugal.pt/oportunidades/;
     Business: http://business.turismodeportugal.pt/pt/noticias/Paginas/concursos-abertos-no-ambito-do-programa-revive.aspx;
- Turismo de Portugal, I.P. external teams, operating in conjunction with the external services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in international strategic markets;
- The presence in international fairs;
- The execution of specific actions in international strategic markets.
VII - FINANCIAL SUPPORT INSTRUMENTS

In order to support the necessary investment to rehabilitate the properties envolved in REVIVE program, investors selected in the context of calls for tenders for the concession of these properties may access the financing credit lines made available by Turismo de Portugal, I.P., namely:

- Line of credit with mutual guarantee (specific line designed for REVIVE program, for SMEs) - check here General Conditions of the REVIVE_SPGM Line​;

- Offer Qualification Support Line (projects supported within the scope of this line that are bidding on development of the interior of the country shall benefit from a performance premium of up to 20% of the Turismo de Portugal, I.P. support component) - check here http://business.turismodeportugal.pt/pt/Investir/Financiamento/Programas_incentivos/Paginas/Linha-de-apoio-a-qualificacao-da-oferta.aspx.