Palaces, castles, old barracks and convents to be transformed to house university students

It’s a brave new plan to create ‘affordable accommodation’ for the nation’s students increasingly squeezed out of the rentals market due to Portugal’s tourist ‘boom’.

An old army barracks, a palace, a convent, former youth hostels and even the old headquarters of the education ministry are among State-owned buildings to be transformed over the next 10 years to create a new pool of student accommodation.