In a series of talks marking the 10(th) anniversary of Jornal Económico, José Rui Meneses e Castro and Diogo Abecasis, the co-CEOs of MAP Group, discussed the profound transformation of Portugal’s property and construction sector. The interview focused on major themes that will shape the coming years, including urban regeneration, new-build construction, innovation, sustainability, resilience, and investment.
MAP Group’s participation in this discussion reinforces the group’s positioning as an integrated organisation, ready to respond to the challenges of a changing market and to actively contribute to shaping the sector’s next decade.
One of the key points raised in the Jornal Económico interview is the transformation of MAP Engenharia into the current MAP Group. This evolution reflects growth and a strategic decision to expand capabilities and provide a more comprehensive market response. According to the co-CEOs, this evolution has enabled the group to grow, become more specialised, and operate more efficiently by operating as an ecosystem of companies that cover all phases of the property cycle and covering different stages of the real estate cycle and responding to its various demands.
This integrated structure offers more than just organic expansion; it provides a competitive advantage, enabling the MAP Group to respond in a specialised manner to different market segments, ranging from construction and fit-out to luxury housing and asset enhancement.
The interview also highlights a structural shift in the Portuguese market. While urban regeneration accounted for most activity a decade ago, new-build construction now dominates. Diogo Abecasis notes that the business mix has reversed, shifting from a landscape dominated by regeneration projects to one where new-build construction accounts for the lion’s share of activity.
This transformation is accompanied by the emergence of large-scale projects in not only the residential sector, but also offices, education and other areas fundamental to urban growth. At the same time, the co-CEOs emphasise the need for integrated planning, infrastructure and services to prevent the creation of ‘dormitory towns’ as investment shifts towards outlying areas.
In an industry traditionally characterised by mistrust and conservative thinking, José Rui Meneses e Castro discusses how the MAP Group has cultivated a different culture: one that is more agile, more innovative and better aligned with the current needs of clients and investors. The interview discusses the challenge of establishing a young company in a market where trust is often associated with a long-standing history, and emphasises the importance of challenging this paradigm by being responsive, providing high-quality services and having a long-term vision.
This agility is presented as a key factor in tackling the challenges of 2026 and the looming global risks, in a context where service integration and specialisation are becoming increasingly important.
Another key theme of the interview is sustainability. For the MAP Group, it is not confined to environmental considerations or technical metric compliance. As the co-CEOs explain in the article, it encompasses a broader range of factors, including employability, the development of its teams, economic responsibility and a long-term vision.
This integrated approach to sustainability aligns with the group’s view of its projects as spaces for creating lasting value, where construction, efficiency, social impact and resilience must go hand in hand.
The interview also highlights the resilience demonstrated by the MAP Group during times of great pressure, such as the pandemic. The interview reflects on the strategic decisions that enabled the group to maintain its operations, preserve its operational capacity, and grow during an extremely challenging period. This track record reinforces the idea of a group that can respond effectively during periods of both expansion and uncertainty.
Looking ahead to the next decade, the message is one of confidence. The co-CEOs emphasise Portugal’s potential as an attractive international investment destination, and describe the MAP Group as partner capable of speaking the language of investors, not only from a commercial perspective but also in terms of market metrics, expectations and requirements.
MAP Group’s participation in Jornal Económico’s series of talks cements its position in the discussion about the future of Portugal’s property and construction sectors. At a time when the sector is facing an increasing number of challenges, ranging from housing and sustainability to innovation and regulatory pressure, the group is reaffirming its conviction that the coming years will require an integrated vision, the ability to deliver and the agility needed to turn challenges into opportunities.
MAP Group continues to assert itself as a group prepared to help shape the built environment of the next decade with rigour, intelligence, and ambition.
Watch the interview published in Jornal Económico as part of a series of talks to mark the newspaper’s 10(th) anniversary, on the MAP Group’s YouTube channel.
