Prime Minister António Costa confirmed this Friday his intention to launch the first tender for the construction of a high-speed line between Lisbon and Porto in January, if there is agreement from the PSD leader.
“In January everything will be ready to launch the competition, but given the current political situation, the competition will only be announced if the future leader of the PS and the current leader of the PSD give the green light,” Antoniou said. Costa.
The leader of the outgoing government spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the opening of the Portugal pavilion at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Asked if he had already contacted the PSD president about the project, António Costa said that he had already communicated the situation to Luis Montenegro and it was decided that they would discuss it again when the conditions for launching the competition were in place.
“If there is a green light, it will be implemented, if not, it will remain in the transition portfolio and the next government will decide what to do,” he said.
The Lisbon-Porto high-speed road project, with an estimated cost of around 4.5 billion euros, provides connections between the two cities in one hour and 15 minutes, with possible stops in Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro and Gaia.
At the same time, depending on coordination with Spain, the Porto Vigo connection is also being developed with a new connection to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport and the Braga-Valence section (Viana do Castelo area).
“I believe that this is a project agreed upon,” believes António Costa, arguing that the connection between the three cities “is the first step towards the inclusion of Portugal in the Iberian high-speed network” and strengthens the commitment and transition to the Railway.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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