The Infrastructure Minister said on Monday that he met last Friday with the Independent Technical Commission, which is studying possible locations for the future airport, while waiting for the government to complete work for a “reasoned decision.”
This Monday, João Galamba presided over the signing of the contract for the restoration of the road connecting the business districts of Entronmento and Riacos (Torres Novas) in the Santarém area with Highway 23 (A23), in a ceremony where he heard the President of the Municipality of Torreja Pedro Ferreira (PS) called decide on a future airport not only for Lisbon but also for the rest of the country.
Asked by reporters at the end of the ceremony in Entroncamento, given his statement that the airport in Santarém, one of the study sites protected by the region, is “far away”, Galamba said that the Independent Technical Commission should conduct a “multi-vector and multi-dimensional” analysis, with criteria other than distance, and the Government awaits final work for a “reasoned” decision.
“I met with the commission last Friday. This is a work that we are following closely, always ensuring all the conditions for its continuation,” he said, stressing that the work is ongoing and that there will be an “interim report” soon, waiting for the government to “serenely finalize the work”, “ with reason to make the decision that the country has been waiting for for so many decades.”
“But there is one thing I can guarantee without seeing the final report yet. I will not say that 80 kilometers is close. But this, as I said, does not mean anything, either positive or negative, for any locality. It’s just a fact. All different locations have different advantages and disadvantages. I pointed out only one, which is inevitable, because we are talking about a long distance,” he added.
Considering Entroncamento Deputy Mayor Ilda Joaquim (PS)’s statement that “minutes are more important than kilometers”, Galamba assured that the commission is working on “different dimensions of analysis, not just distance” and that it will never be conditional because she will also conclude that 80 kilometers is not close.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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