The Prime Minister, António Costa, confirmed on Friday his intention to launch the first tender for the construction of the high-speed line (TGV) between Lisbon and Porto in January if there is an 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 launched if the future leader of the PS and the current leader of the PSD give the green light,” António said. Coast.
The leader of the outgoing government spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Portuguese pavilion at the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28), taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
When asked if he had already contacted the PSD president about the project, António Costa said that he had already reported the situation to Luís Montenegro and that it had been agreed that they would discuss it again if there were conditions for the match to take place. launch.
“If there is a green light it will go ahead, 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 project, with an estimated cost of around 4.5 billion euros, provides a connection 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-Valença section (Viana do Castelo district).
“It is, I believe, a project on which there is consensus”, considered António Costa, arguing that the connection between the three cities “is a first step towards the inclusion of Portugal in the Iberian high-speed network” and the commitment and transition to the region strengthened. railway.
Source: DN
