The construction of the bridge between Alcoutim and the Spanish town of Sanlúcar de Guadiana, foreseen by the Government in the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), is the "fulfillment of a dream" with "many years", said the president of the Algarve municipality.
In reaction to the inclusion of this project in the plan that will be under public consultation until March, the president of the Chamber of Alcoutim, Osvaldo Gonçalves, admitted that "it was not a surprise" to see the bridge included in the document, but considered that the executive's option represents a "strengthening the commitment" that the Government had already expressed through the prime minister.
«It will be the fulfillment of a dream of many people and many people. We have longed for this connection for many years," said the mayor to Lusa news agency, stressing that a bridge between the two locations is also "basic" for "strategic regional development."
According to the president of one of the country's municipalities most affected by desertification and population aging, «the issue of mobility is central to the need for the territory to develop» and a bridge «will create this dynamic»», being «helpful for the territory » where it belongs.
«More than the importance this may have for Alcoutim, this also has a strategic importance at the level of the region, because it will certainly allow for greater and better development in this sub-region, which is a peripheral area of the Algarve, suffers from all the ailments we know and there are asymmetries between the coast and the interior. And this is a way to correct these asymmetries», he argued.
The mayor recalled that "over the years there has been much talk about the bridge" between Alcoutim and the neighboring town of Sanlúcar, whose construction will make it possible to create a link between Portugal and Spain at a site some 40 kilometers north of the mouth of the river and the International bridge over the Guadiana, which connects the municipalities of Castro Marim and Ayamonte (Spain).
«In recent years, we have been talking and striving to sensitize the Spanish and Portuguese governments to the construction of this link, steps were taken towards conversation and awareness and things were gradually maturing. What seems to me is that, at this current point, there is a degree of commitment here that had never been assumed», congratulated Osvaldo Gonçalves.
Asked whether the choice of the Algarve Regional Development and Coordination Commission (CCDR) to put the project into practice was a good solution, the mayor replied that "we could possibly have better instruments" if it were "associated with infrastructure [IP]" , but showed “total confidence” in the capacity of that body to carry out the work.
«Knowing that, in terms of the technical capacity to develop these projects, perhaps the Infrastructure in Portugal could eventually be better prepared for this. That's how it was decided and I have complete confidence [in the solution]», said the mayor.
Osvaldo Gonçalves was optimistic about the articulation with the Spanish authorities, considering that the «little ant work that has been done and the contacts made over the last few years have always had a very close articulation with the Spanish counterpart [de Sanlúcar de Guadiana ] and, through it, “with the various structures of the administration of the Junta de Andalusia and also of the Government itself” of Spain.
“There have been these contacts and this expression of will and I believe that this is the only way to achieve this. If there is no equal will on the part of both parties, things could hardly be done, because no one builds a bridge thinking only of one bank, you have to think of both," he added.
The Recovery and Resilience Plan of Portugal, to access the post-crisis community funds of covid-19, foresees 36 reforms and 77 investments in social areas, climate and digitalization, in a total of 13,9 billion euros in grants.
After a draft presented to the European Commission last October, and a process of talks with Brussels, the Portuguese government put the preliminary and summarized version of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) under public consultation on Tuesday.
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