The environmental impact study (EIA) of the quadrupling of the Minho Line between Contumil (Porto) and Ermesinde (Valongo) carried out by Lusa involves the demolition of 88 buildings along the route, 21 of which are currently in use.
“The project will demolish ninety buildings (eighty-eight at the Contumil-Ermesinde section and two at the Rua Garcia da Horta-Rua Padre Joaquim das Neves junction). Of these dwellings, twenty-one correspond to dwellings in use, with garages/outbuildings/warehouses or abandoned dwellings remaining,” can be read in the non-technical EIA summary of February published last week on the website of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and from which can be found today. from Lusa.
At stake is a quadrupling of the Minho railway line between Contumil (Porto) and Ermesinde (Valongo) stations, to be implemented in 2024 and cost 120 million euros, according to a source from Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).
In the study, the demolition is divided into four areas, the first of which is in the municipalities of Porto and Gondomar, north of Contumil station, “an area consisting of a group of residential buildings, some extensions in public areas and some extensions to support agricultural work / animal shelters. “, on the Rua da Ranha.
Thus, “due to the peculiarities of its location (proximity to the road, impact on the stability of the structure or otherwise), it becomes necessary to demolish a number of outbuildings and / or other buildings associated with residential premises, with emphasis on the need to demolish 2 residential houses,” the document says.
In the second zone, in Río Tinto (Gondomar), on the right hand side, “the demolition of a house is planned”, where “there is currently a place for religious worship (…), a complex of industrial warehouses and even some outbuildings /telheiros”, and on the left side “there is still mention of the demolition of a small extension”.
In the third, concerning the intervention at Rio Tinto station, “the necessary demolition to be carried out concerns five dwellings, four of which are vacant”, as well as “the demolition of a number of outbuildings, garages and other buildings”. planned.
In the fourth zone, already affecting the municipalities of Valongo and Maia, the planned demolitions “correspond to four dwellings (one in the municipality of Gondomar, one in the municipality of Maia and two in the municipality of Valongo”), with “the demolition of two garages, two outbuildings and a warehouse”.
According to the EIA published on the APA website, “the construction phase of the project will last 42 months plus three months for erection and dismantling of construction sites.”
The completion of all work to quadruple the line is contingent on the issuance of a favorable Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) and “any adjustments that may be made” by the APA in an ongoing process that began in October 2022.
In February 2020, following a public consultation in October 2019, the APA declared non-compliance with the previous executive design for quadrupling the site, which was based on the DIA issued in 2009.
With regard to the new project, “going along at the usual time, it is expected that the DIA will be provided at the end of the 1st half of 2023.”
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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