The Palhoça region includes renowned higher education institutions in Santa Catarina, such as the University of the South of Santa Catarina (Unisul), with five campuses from Florianópolis to Araranguá and a history of 45 years. Another institution in the city is the Municipal School of Palhoça, with programs in Management and Pedagogy. The State University of Santa Catarina (Udesc) will soon also have a campus in Palhoça.
The capital of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis is one of the state's cities that most attracts immigrants and investors due to its high rate of development and quality of life. With a privileged relief, it is famed for its beautiful beaches, 42 in total. The ‘post card’ image that identifies it is the famous Hercílio Luz Bridge (inaugurated in 1926), the first roadway between the island and the continent. The economy of Florianópolis, which is home to 400,000 inhabitants, is mainly driven by commerce and tourism. It is linked through its airport to a number of countries in the world and Mercosur and lies 300 km by road from Curitiba, 476 km from Porto Alegre and 705 km from São Paulo.
The Hercílio Luz International Airport, located in Florianópolis, covers an area of approximately 9,086,589.53 m2. It receives around 82 flights per day in the low season, and reaches an average 102 during the high season. The airport’s infrastructure includes nine stores, five food points, for car hire offices, two tourism agencies and one postal agency, in addition to a drugstore and a Banco do Brasil branch.
Santa Catarina has three important sea ports: Porto de São Francisco do Sul, Porto de Itajaí and Porto de Imbituba. They maintain regular lines with the leading port cities of the world, handling around 14 million tons per year. Santa Catarina's ports cater to ships of up to 45,000 tons and operate with containers. The Port of Itajaí is placed third in the national ranking for container exports.
Considered the most dynamic city in the state since 1999 for attracting new developments, Palhoça was chosen as the site for the Via Catarina Shopping Mall, which will be inaugurated in 2010. The first shopping mall in Palhoça, it is a development by Grupo Sibara, from Balneário Camboriú, and is being built on a piece of land measuring 13,830 m2, with a ground floor plus two levels and a parking facility for 470 vehicles, on the Pagani allotment. In addition to commerce, it will include a hotel with 11 floors and a heliport. The neighboring city of São José is home to the Mundo Car and Itaguaçu Shopping Malls, the first in Santa Catarina, with 170 stores and an estimated monthly flow of 800,000 people.
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