The municipalities of Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, and Matosinhos were in the spotlight at the 2026 edition of MIPIM, the world’s largest real estate event, held in Cannes. Under the Greater Porto project, the delegation brought together 23 industry companies and political and technical representatives from the three municipalities, with the aim of promoting this Atlantic Front as a strategic hub for investment in housing, urban regeneration, and sustainable projects.
Greater Porto’s participation in MIPIM 2026 aims to consolidate the region’s international positioning by promoting an integrated, innovative, and competitive urban area within the European real estate investment landscape. Through this joint presence, Greater Porto reinforced its strategy to attract international investment, promote infrastructure projects, and enhance the region’s economic and business ecosystem.
The Greater Porto booth hosted several presentations by the municipalities of Greater Porto—Matosinhos, Porto, and Vila Nova de Gaia—which showcased projects and investment opportunities to developers, investors, and international partners. These sessions were part of a joint strategy to promote the region and advance its internationalization, thereby increasing the visibility of real estate and urban development projects in the area.
Vila Nova de Gaia stood out with its presentation “Gaia – How do we boost Greater Porto,” featuring a zoom-out of a NASA image that offered a rare and striking perspective of the region. This vision symbolizes the unity, continuity, and fluidity of a territory that blurs its borders and is built together, like an innate symbiosis. Zooming in on the municipality, it reflects its scale and robustness, with unparalleled territorial diversity and an extraordinary capacity for evolution.
During the presentation, led by the technical team responsible for urban planning, landscape, and public spaces, the focus was on the region’s diversity and the key pillars of a structured strategy for sustainable growth, aimed at addressing future challenges with a concrete goal: to improve people’s lives and create new opportunities and momentum.
In this regard, the municipality’s scale was highlighted: 165 km², 25 km of the Douro riverfront, and 15 km of Atlantic coastline, with over 310,000 inhabitants (2024 estimate), making it the most populous municipality in the Northern region and the third largest nationwide.
The polycentric urban network, the main national road and rail connections, and the strong business presence—in the industrial, logistics, and commercial sectors—are reflected in the distinct potential of five territorial units. The challenge lies in fostering cohesion in Gaia, offering a horizon of confidence for investment.
The City of Porto presented the Morro da Sé Student Housing Project at the MIPIM 2026 Municipal Showcase, an initiative focused on urban regeneration to address the growing demand for student housing.
The project involves the renovation of several buildings in the historic center to create housing for approximately 110 students, while helping to revitalize the area and increase the supply of housing for university students.
With approximately 193,000 students enrolled in higher education institutions in the region for the 2024/2025 academic year, the Porto Metropolitan Area faces the challenge of ensuring adequate housing for this population. The strategy involves integrating new residences into the urban fabric and enhancing historic areas through rehabilitation.
The Municipality of Matosinhos presented its urban and economic revitalization strategy, positioning itself as the “Atlantic Gateway” and a dynamic economic ecosystem; it is already the country’s fourth-largest municipality in terms of turnover, with exports to 180 countries. The announcement of the Matosinhos Metrobus marks a key piece of a strategic development puzzle for the northwest corridor of the Porto Metropolitan Area. More than just a new transportation system, this €29 million investment, co-financed by the Just Transition Fund, serves as the catalyst that will breathe life and connectivity into a portfolio of real estate investments and an unprecedented transformative project in the region.
Networking and Opportunities
Greater Porto kicked off its participation in MIPIM 2026 with a program that included institutional sessions, strategic discussions on the future of cities, and presentations of Portuguese real estate projects to international investors.
The official opening of the event featured a speech by economist Philippe Aghion, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2025. A world-renowned expert on the dynamics of innovation and economic growth, Aghion opened the 36th edition of the event with an analysis of the economic and technological transformations that are redefining global competitiveness and the development of cities of the future.
For MIPIM participants, the presentation offered a strategic perspective on key issues for the real estate sector and urban development, including the role of innovation and technology in promoting more sustainable and resilient cities, the importance of public and private investment in accelerating the ecological and digital transition, and the contribution of public policies to stimulating productivity, strengthening competitiveness, and promoting balanced territorial development.
A strategic delegation
The delegation included companies such as Chave Nova, Glowing+Krest, Keo, Avenue, Casais, Emerge, Mota-Engil Real Estate Developers, Garcia Garcia, Geo Investimentos, Lionesa Business Hub, Orien, Promiris/GaiaHills/Quadra, VPM Real Estate, Alma Development, ASL Engineering for People, Castro Group, Horizonte, IDS, Lencastre Advogados, MassLab, Mome, Mutant ArchitectureDesign, Omega Group, and Réplica Real Estate, reflecting the diversity and innovative capacity of the region’s business community.
Political representatives included Marta Pontes, Councilor for Commerce and Investment for the Municipality of Matosinhos; Hugo Beirão, Councilor for Economy and Entrepreneurship, Mobility and Transportation, and Tourism and Internationalization for the Municipality of Porto; Luís Archer, Executive Board Member of Porto Vivo SRU; Pedro Meira, Municipal Director of the Mayor’s Office of Vila Nova de Gaia; and Amorim Pereira, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gaiurb.
A showcase of impressive figures
The 2025 edition of MIPIM once again established itself as one of the leading gathering places for the global real estate sector, bringing together more than 20,000 delegates from 90 countries. One of the highlights of the event was the strong presence of institutional investors. Approximately 5,000 investors attended the event, including 50 fund managers. In total, the investors present represented approximately €4 trillion in assets under management, demonstrating the financial scale and relevance of the event to the global flow of capital in the real estate sector.
With these impressive figures, MIPIM 2025 reaffirmed itself as an essential forum for connecting global capital, public decision-makers, and real estate developers, helping to foster partnerships, identify trends, and guide the development of the international real estate market in the coming years.
Image credits: © (seen on) Facebook Greater Porto
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
