The improvement of maritime access and facilities in the ports of Portimão and Faro (55 million) and the modernization and electrification of the Algarve Line (55 million) are the only two investments planned for the Algarve region in the list of 30 priority projects chosen by the Working Group for High Value Infrastructure, created by the Government.
In fact, of the 5100 million euros foreseen for these 30 priority projects, only 110 million are earmarked for investments in the Algarve, that is, 2,1% of the total. In terms of priorities, both projects are placed in half of the lowest priority: the works in the ports of Portimão and Faro in 20th place and the modernization of the railway in 26th (see tables below).
Out of these projects is the Requalification of Estrada Nacional 125, as well as other necessary investments in the network of fishing and nautical ports in the Algarve.
Jorge Botelho, president of AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community, which brings together the 16 mayors of the region's Municipal Chambers, told the Sul Informação that “the lack of requalification of the EN125 is shameful for the Algarve and for the country”, since it is a “fundamental” investment, given that this road is “the backbone” of the region.
The president of AMAL, noting that he has not yet read the Report of that Working Group and that he only knows the topic "through the media", stressed that "the Algarve's turning network for the sea strategy is also lacking". «The works in the commercial ports of Faro and above all in Portimão are fundamental, but we lack the road network and a set of infrastructures facing the sea».
«The fishing ports of Olhão and Portimão need urgent investments», not to mention, for example, the promised fishing port of Tavira, which never moves forward.
In the case of the works at the Commercial Port of Portimão, which are intended to make this infrastructure more prepared to receive the growing movement of cruises, Jorge Botelho also raised the question of whether “it will have the right resources for the work to be done well, in a way to solve all current problems».
As for the investments in the railway, namely in the Algarve Line, the AMAL president considered them "very important", but assured that the Algarve mayors and the structure that represents them have not yet been informed of the concrete works that will be carried out to improve them. and electrification. «It is a subject that has been talked about for a long time, it is a need that has been identified countless times, but I do not know which project is currently on the table», guaranteed Jorge Botelho.
In the Final Report of 411 pages what the Sul Informação had access, the working group defines 30 priority projects for the next six years, in a global investment of 5.103,8 million euros, including the expansion of the port of Sines, the construction of a deep water terminal in Lisbon , the construction of the Marão Tunnel and the modernization of the Northern line.
The document, delivered to the prime minister on Monday and which is now in public debate, includes 18 projects linked to the maritime-port sector, eight to the railway, two to road and another two to the airport.
The working group is led by the president of the Portuguese Industrial Association, José Eduardo de Carvalho, and points out as priority funding the projects community funds (61%, or 3.132 million euros), then the State (which would be responsible for 1.428,1, 543,6 million euros), and only XNUMX million would be advanced by private individuals.
The working group was created in August 2013 by order of the Secretary of State for Infrastructure Sérgio Monteiro.
List of 30 priority projects:
1st Expansion of the container terminal at the port of Leixões (Investment: 38 million euros)
2nd Completion of the Northern Line modernization plan (Investment: 400 million euros)
3rd Expansion of Container Terminal XXI at the port of Sines (Investment: 139 million euros)
4th Improvement of maritime accessibility and optimization of funds in the Setubal port (Investment: 25 million euros)
5th Completion of the Marão Tunnel work (Investment: 173 million euros)
6th New container terminal at the port of Leixões (Investment: 200 million euros)
7th New container terminal at the port of Lisbon (Investment: 600 million euros)
8th New cruise terminal at the port of Leixões (Investment: 12 million euros)
9th New cargo terminal at Lisbon airport (Investment: 5 million euros)
10th Modernization of the railway sections between Aveiro and Vilar Formoso (Investment: 900 million euros)
11th New cruise terminal in Lisbon (Investment: 25,2 million euros)
12th Increase in the efficiency of the current container terminals in Alcântara (Investment: 46,6 million euros)
13th Entry of larger ships in the port of Aveiro (Investment: 1 million euros)
14th Port of Leixões Logistics Platform (Investment: 180 million euros)
15th Zone of logistical activities and expansion of the Cacia hub in Aveiro (Investment: 53,9 million euros)
16th Correction works for the route at the mouth of the Tua and Sabor rivers (Investment: 50 million euros)
17th Modernization and electrification of the Minho line (Investment: 145 million euros)
18th Expansion of the Ro-Ro terminal at the port of Setúbal (Investment: 3,5 million euros)
19th Improvement of the operational conditions of the terminals at the port of Aveiro (Investment: 3,5 million euros)
20th Improvement of maritime access and facilities in the ports of Portimão and Faro (Investment: 55 million euros)
21st Interventions in the locks in the Douro (Investment: 24 million euros)
22nd Construction of IP3 between Coimbra and Viseu (Investment: 600 million euros)
23rd Modernization of the Cascais line (Investment: 160 million euros)
24th Modernization and electrification of the Southern Line (Investment: 20 million euros)
25th Évora-Caia/Badajoz railway line in connection with the port of Sines (Investment: 1000 million euros)
26th Modernization and electrification of the Algarve Line (Investment: 55 million euros)
27th Reformulation and integration of cargo terminals at national airports (Investment: 5 million euros)
28th Reactivation of the Siderurgia Nacional pier (Seixal terminal) (Investment: 6 million euros)
29th Modernization and electrification of the West Line (Investment: 135 million euros)
30th Deepening of the bar, channel and basin of the port of Figueira da Foz (Investment: 25 million euros)
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