Communities
focused on eco-effciency.
Can you tell
us what the concept of Citizen Services
means to you?
“The concept is closely linked to the servi-
ces provided to citizens from a group pers-
pective, usually known as public services.
The citizen is naturally more demanding.
Providing services is not enough. Servi-
ces must be rendered effciently, bearing
in mind the concept of excellence and the
costs must be balanced. Citizens do not
mind paying, however, they must know for
what they are paying, and demand good
service. In this respect, Aqualia has con-
tributed to enhancing the quality of service
provision by offering a certifed service”.
As we understand it, the City Council is the
driving force of a city.
How would like the
future to be, how do you imagine it?
“I would like to be able to reaffrm the city
in a trans-border context, reaffrming its im-
portance in the Iberian Peninsula in terms
of transport of merchandise through a lo-
gistics platform interlinked with the Sines,
Setúbal, and Lisbon harbors.
Elvas must be integrated to the high-speed
passenger train corridor and, jointly with
Badajoz, affrm itself as a truly Eurocity,
where team planning and management is
carried out jointly, thereby taking advantage
of the complementarities at both sides of
the border. United for the greater good”.
What energy source would you like for the
city’s future?
“Energy effciency is only possible if we
combine the various sources of available
supplies. The energy sources of Elvas cu-
rrently include electricity, natural gas, pho-
tovoltaic and biomass energies and private
cogeneration projects.
Energy policy requires wagering on clean
energies”.
Organizing the transport system by mini-
mizing noise and environmental pollution
is essential for the good health of the city.
Have you any project in mind on sustaina-
ble mobility to improve access to the city
and the lives of residents?
“Elvas recently approved an energy mo-
bility plan to provide the city with its own
infrastructure for supply/charging electric
vehicles.
Although this plan is just a frst step, it is
certainly the frst one and this is the rea-
son why it will be important to build envi-
ronmental awareness and to contribute to
changing the habits of consumers who, in
turn, must be encouraged to wake up to
these new technologies.
What are the immediate plans in terms of
investments to improve, even more, the
quality of life of residents?
“ We plan to invest in projects that enable
us to take the necessary qualitative leap to
reaffrm the concept of Elvas as a Eurocity,
as a World Heritage site, as a logistics and
social city, encouraging generational cohe-
sion, rewarding technological progress to
improve the quality of life, and promoting
job creation and economic growth”