The Minister of Infrastructure said on Wednesday that the legal solution to the 10% toll increase next year, as stipulated in the concession contracts, will be known in the coming weeks.
“Without wanting to stretch too much, tolls will not rise in this dimension [cerca de 10%]but in the coming weeks, the legal, legal solution will be known that will allow the State to stop the increase in tolls, which of course also concerns us,” said the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, which is heard in the Assembly of the Republic, in response to PCP deputy Bruno Dias.
The official recalled that the Prime Minister, António Costa, has already guaranteed that the toll will not increase by 10% next year, a value derived from the formula in the concession contracts with the state and based on inflation, which this year reached unexpected values.
“We are trying to find a solution that not only protects people who circulate and cross toll roads, but also protects the Portuguese state,” emphasized Pedro Nuno Santos.
The Minister of Infrastructure also guaranteed that “until the day the new tolls come into effect”, on January 1, “the matter will be resolved”.
Asked about the risks of litigation, Pedro Nuno Santos pointed out that “funds are provided for in the state budget” for these issues.
Toll prices updates for the following year are proposed by the motorway concessionaires to the government on the basis of the above formula.
The concessionaires were available to negotiate the value with the government, taking into account the inflationary crisis the country is going through.
Source: DN
