The plan also includes the Convent of S. Miguel, municipal land,
plots, and the landfill belonging to the municipalities of
Caldas da Rainha, Obidos and Peniche. The plan took more than
five years to be completed and had to have the agreement of 12
entities. "We needed dozens of meetings, resources, advice and
negotiations," said the mayor, Telmo Faria.

This venture of the Belgian group "Wilhelm & Co" has for some
years been predicted to consist of a commercial area of 60 to 80
thousand square metres and have more than 80 shops, cinemas,
restaurants and places for entertainment. The retail park and
hotel will have around three thousand parking spaces, and
involve a total investment of about EUR 200 million. The project
envisages a golf driving range and given the proximity to the
Óbidos dam a small marina in order to maximize the use of
pleasure craft.

Plaza Oeste will be served by direct access to the A15 next to
the Gaeiras football field. As part of the land exchange to
facilitate the motorway access, the sports complex has been
upgraded at the expense of the developer, and already has a new
artificial grass field.

The mayor has explained that Plaza Oeste was originally planned
to be a lot closer to Obidos beside "Senhor da Pedra", but
accessibility in that location was problematic. The location
beside the Arno river allows direct connection to the motorway
without interfering with existing local roads.

At the meeting attended by the promoters of Plaza Oeste it was
stated that the project should begin construction in the middle
of 2009. They characterized it as a different project, which
will offer shopping, but also areas of leisure, using the nature
and beauty of the existing landscape. They highlighted the
strong sensitivity of the Belgian company to the environment,
already visible in several projects they have in Europe. The
area of leisure and entertainment will not affect areas of
nature reserve that must be preserved.

The promoters also highlighted the connection of existing
business to the potential in this region. "The project will
attract people within a radius of two hours and achieve this
with a strong component of leisure."

"We've surpassed the expectations of just a mall," explained the
architect and project manager of the company, Jose Santos, the
Plaza Oeste will include business, leisure and entertainment,
retail stores, restaurants, cinema and a sailing centre.

The upper levels will form the shopping centre, composed of a
hypermarket and stores devoted to home and fashion. A lower
level, near the lake's dam, will have the food plaza, cinemas,
recreational areas and an outdoor amphitheatre.

Various recreational activities are provided for such as bird-
watching, "radical activities" and walks in the woods. There is
also a "bold" proposal for connecting by cable car to the
historic area of Óbidos. "We envisage a stage floating in the
lake of the Arno River", the architect suggested. The project is
also to be presented in a fair in Cannes (France).

Jose Santos also expressed willingness to establish partnerships
with the council on joint initiatives.

In the neighbouring land work has already begun on the "Complexo
Escolar do Alvito" (Alvito School Complex) to be finalized early
next year and will receive children from the parishes of A-dos-
Negros and Gaeiras.

The president of the "Junta das Gaeiras", Eduardo João said that
he looks forward to the work of Plaza Oeste and that the project
will have several components - a hotel of five stars for a
resort of great quality, a retail park, a business forum with
cinemas with approximately 800 direct jobs. "It is a project
that includes many green spaces and terraces, water falls and
spectacular recreation areas, and I believe it is an advantage
for the region."

Coverage of the Assembly meeting which approved the Arnóia plan
was in the local Gazeta das Caldas. A previous report of the
expected project was in a Leiria paper, and The Jornal das
Caldas also reported on Plaza Oeste.

You can read coverage of some of the concerns raised by Heloísa
Apolónia of the green party, and the answers given by Pedro
Félix of the Câmara de Óbidos in January of this year also in
the Gazeta das Caldas.

In an April 2009 report entitled "The ego and self-esteem of
Gaeiras are high" the "Gazeta das Caldas" reported that the
president of the "Câmara de Óbidos", Telmo Faria regretted that
the Plaza Oeste investment of more than 150 million was "not yet
deployed".

You can also read a Gazeta das Caldas special report of the
project on the website of the "Câmara Municipal de Óbidos".

A few of the Obidos projects in planning and development.

Click on map for more details on golf resort projects underway.