On April 2, the Mayor of Oeiras, Isaltino Morais, and OVIA visited Opera Square in Limerick, led by Darren Horan, a representative of Limerick Twenty Thirty DAC, a public body dedicated to leading major urban structural transformation projects.
Opera Square is one of the largest and most ambitious urban regeneration projects underway in Ireland, with an overall investment of over 200 million euros. Situated in the center of Limerick’s historic district, this project encompasses over 45,000 square meters of construction. It features modern office buildings, retail spaces, residential units, cultural facilities, and public areas, all designed with sustainable infrastructure that adheres to international best practices in green and inclusive urbanism.
This urban operation represents a clear commitment to the intelligent requalification of public space, the promotion of a new polycentric city model, and the creation of a vibrant urban ecosystem attractive to companies, talents, and residents, anchored in a long-term, coordinated, and ambitious vision.
For the delegation of Oeiras, the visit to Opera Square was particularly inspiring. The borough envisions a future similar to that of Limerick focusing on innovation, sustainability, and enhancing urban centrality by improving its territory. Limerick’s experience shows how the articulation between the public sector, private investment, and academic knowledge can generate a lasting urban transformation, capable of attracting talent, retaining a skilled population, and projecting a new urban identity geared towards the future.
The governance model adopted – through the creation of a public entity dedicated exclusively to implementing strategic urban projects – as well as the ability to mobilize investment and institutional consensus, are valuable lessons for Oeiras, at a time when the municipality is accelerating the implementation of its urban development plan and consolidating the Oeiras Valley as a reference territory in Portugal and Europe.
