Cuiabá mayor backs 30‑year lease to rebuild Shopping Popular

On 30 July 2024, Mayor Abilio Brunini of Cuiabá met with representatives of the Shopping Popular Association to present a draft law for the city council. The proposal would grant the association a 30‑year surface‑rights lease over the mall’s site, providing legal certainty for the final phase of reconstruction after the fire that destroyed the complex on 15 July 2024.

The bill also assigns the association responsibility for managing the shopping centre and maintaining the adjacent Manoel Soares de Campos sports complex, while reserving at least 100 m² for a professional education centre such as a SENAI unit. Council President Paula Calil and several councilors attended the meeting, and Association President Misael Galvão stressed the need for public‑private partnership to restore the mall, which he described as a key economic hub for thousands of families in the capital.

Mayor Brunini highlighted the project’s role in safeguarding jobs, income and commercial activity in Cuiabá, calling the shopping centre a “heritage of the city” that must be rebuilt with secure legal foundations.