The Regional Government has accepted the free 10-year assignment of an APRAM property in Funchal for the Museum of Autonomy. Find out what was decided.
The Regional Government has accepted the free assignment, by commodatum and for a period of 10 years, of a property owned by APRAM - Administração dos Portos da Região Autónoma da Madeira, S.A., located on Avenida Sá Carneiro, in Funchal, to house the «Museu da Autonomia-Centro Interativo e Pedagógico». The decision is set out in Regional Government Council Resolution No. 1039/2026, published in the Jornal Oficial on 9 November 2026.
The Government Council, meeting in plenary on 5 November 2026, accepted the assignment, approved the draft Commodatum Contract to be concluded between APRAM and the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and mandated the Regional Secretary for Education, Science and Technology to sign the contract on behalf of the Region and to carry out the subsequent acts necessary for its execution.
Commodatum is a free contract under which one entity lends another an asset for use, to be returned at the end of the agreed period. In this case, the Region will hold the property for 10 years without paying any purchase price or rent, and the property is intended exclusively for the installation and operation of the museum.
The museum is part of the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of Autonomy, which the Regional Government organised through Resolution No. 698/2024, of 10 September. According to the decree, it will have an institutional and educational nature and is intended to honour the «architects of Autonomy», to mark figures of importance in the autonomous framework, and to preserve and disseminate the most significant historical events in the conquest, affirmation and development of Autonomy.
The document states that APRAM owns the property and that it offers suitable location and size conditions for the museum. The free assignment is justified by the fact that it allows the building to be devoted to a purpose of regional public interest without acquisition or leasing costs.
Establishing the museum requires construction, adaptation, rehabilitation, conservation and improvement works on the property, as well as the installation of content and equipment. The resolution provides that the costs of the construction contract, of acquisitions and of the museum's operation are to be borne by the departments responsible for each component.
The document does not indicate the cost of the works, the amount of acquisitions, the annual operating budget, or an expected date for opening to the public.
The resolution is an act of the Regional Government Council, the executive body of the Region. It is based on subparagraphs b) and c) of Article 69 of the Political-Administrative Statute of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, approved by Law No. 13/91, of 5 June, and on Regional Regulatory Decree No. 5/2025/M, of 5 May, as currently amended. The Political-Administrative Statute is the law that defines the framework of Madeiran autonomy.
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