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Portugal Industrial Regions
Manufacturing was concentrated in two major industrial
regions: Lisbon-Setúbal in the south-central region and
Porto-Aveiro-Braga in the north. Together they accounted
for
about three-fourths of Portugal's net industrial output.
The
Lisbon area included such major industries as iron and
steel;
ship building and repair; oil refining, machinery,
chemicals,
cement, and electronics; and food and beverages. Setúbal,
about
eighty kilometers to the southeast of Lisbon, also had a
large
shipyard and automobile assembly and machine industry
plants, as
well as cement, woodpulp, cork, and fish processing.
Sines,
located about 140 kilometers south of Lisbon, was the site
of a
major deepwater port and heavy industrial complex. Begun
during
the Caetano administration, Sines included an oil
refinery,
petrochemical plants, and a 1,200-megawatt coal-fired
power
plant.
Porto was primarily a center of light industry,
including
textiles, footwear, furniture, wine, and food processing.
Porto
was also the location of the nation's largest petroleum
refinery;
the other was located at Lisbon. Portimão was a center for
fishing. Aveiro specialized in woodpulp and other wood
products
but also produced footwear and machinery. Braga
specialized in
textiles and clothing, cutlery, furniture, and
electronics.
Covilha was also an active textiles area.
The two premier industrial regions offered the greatest
concentrations of population, thereby stimulating
market-oriented
manufacturing operations. Furthermore, because of the
dependence
of modern industry on imports of raw materials, machinery,
and
fuel, the location of processing plants near the two major
ports
minimized their operating costs
(see
fig. 8).
Data as of January 1993
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