Costa hails ‘historic day’ of TGV approval and guarantees competition this week

The Prime Minister marked a “historic day” on Tuesday in the parties’ approval of the high-speed rail project, announcing that a government tender would be issued next week and hailing the “democratic maturity” of the process.

“Today is a historic day for mobility and public transport,” António Costa said on Tuesday in Vila Nova de Gaia (District of Porto), referring to Parliament’s positive vote on draft PS resolutions that recommend the government move forward with the high-speed rail project .

António Costa spoke on Tuesday at the Ferreira Caves in Vila Nova de Gaia, where he attended the signing of the contract for the construction of the Rubi line of the Porto metro with a consortium of FCC, ACA and Contratas y Ventas worth 379.5 million euros.

“I think this is a moment to be applauded because it shows enormous democratic maturity and that it is particularly important in a country where public works are obsessively discussed and obsessively deferred,” he says.

According to the Prime Minister, “at a time of great political upheaval, when the Assembly of the Republic can have an overwhelming majority in favor and say: ‘Open the contest’, I think this is very important and should give all democrats a very strong feeling.” proud”.

“The opening of this competition next week guarantees us access to the 729 million euros that are reserved in Brussels exclusively for this work, which saves us from having to compete in subsequent years with all other countries,” the Prime Minister assured. minister

António Costa stressed that the investment “is structural to decarbonize mobility, reducing distances between two metropolises and replacing many trips that are currently made by plane or car.”

The PSD announced on Tuesday a vote in favor of the PS resolution to launch a tender for the construction of the Porto-Lisbon high-speed line as it “will never be an obstacle” to development, but holds the PS responsible for the decision. A written statement sent to Lusa and signed by PSD vice-president Miguel Pinto Luz noted that “the country has already wasted too much time and this will be the second unsuccessful candidacy due to the incompetence and unpreparedness of the Portuguese government led by the Socialist Party.”

“The PSD will therefore vote in favor of this proposal, in the strict sense that it aims to solve the problems of time and capacity on the Lisbon-Porto railway axis. Vote for Portugal. As for the rest, each Party will take its responsibility and will no longer deceive the Portuguese. Because the government does not have and does not deserve trust in this matter,” criticizes the SDP leader.

At stake is the launch of a tender for the Porto-Hoian section (Oliveira do Bairro, Aveiro district) of the Porto-Lisbon high-speed line, which will connect the two cities in an hour and fifteen minutes, with possible stops in Gaia. , Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria.