PCP Calls for End of Tolls on A28 with State Concession Revoked

The PCP introduced a bill in the Assembly of the Republic arguing that 13 years after the introduction of tolls on the A28 motorway, the government must return its concession to the public domain, it was published this Wednesday.

In a statement sent this Wednesday to the news departments, the Communist MPs, sponsors of the bill no. Viana do Castelo.

“The Government, strictly protecting the public interest, will take the necessary steps during 2023 to return to the State the concession of the Costa de Prata provided for in Annex I, referred to in Article 2 of Decree-Law no. 67-A/2010, June 14, refers to the PCP bill.

The bill, which entered parliament last Friday and was signed by deputies Paula Santos, Bruno Dias, Alma Rivera, Alfredo Maia, Duarte Alves and Joao Dias, states that the governing body of all sections and subsections of the A28 motorway should be Infraestruturas de Portugal. IP).

For communists, when a concession is cancelled, “compensation is not due to the person who owns the concession”.

“The government should create conditions for this law to enter into force in 2023, given the availability of the budget for the fiscal year,” the PKP believes.

For the PCP, the transfer to the state of the concession of this motorway connecting Viana do Castelo with Porto is justified by the current situation in the country.

“In a time marked by low wages, a speculative rise in essential goods and services and a loss of purchasing power by the popular strata, the confirmed increase and direct compensation to motorway concessionaires of around 140 million euros is unacceptable and even more unacceptable when it is the tax authority that continues to collect debts in favor of the concessionaire,” the document says.

For the communists, “the introduction of tolls on the North Coast Highway (A28) was a severe blow to the economic fabric and exacerbated the already difficult living conditions of all those who circulate without alternative along these structuring routes. It can be concluded that only the concessionaire has won in this process. The state, the population and the regional economy have lost and continue to lose.”

“The right to mobility of the population is denied and the national economy is harmed solely in the interests of the concessionaire. [Sem Custos para o Utilizador] which have been imposed by the PSD/CDS and PS governments, and argues that these routes, as they are fundamental to regional development, as they have no viable alternative and due to the imperative of equity, should not be paid.” they approve.