The PSD president said on Monday that he still needs more data to assess whether the decision on the high-speed line between Lisbon and Porto “really needs to be taken in January”, under penalty of losing community funding.
“If this risk does not exist, it is a good idea to send the decision to the next government, which will have full decision-making powers,” said Luís Montenegro, questioned by journalists at the entrance to the mass for the 43rd anniversary of the death of the founder of the PSD, Francisco Sá Carneiro, in the Basílica da Estrela in Lisbon.
On Friday, Prime Minister António Costa announced his intention to launch the first tender for the construction of the 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 launched if the future leader of the PS and the current leader of the PSD give the green light,” António said. Coast.
Asked about his availability for this insight, Montenegro assured that “the PSD is available to evaluate all circumstances surrounding decision-making at a time when the government is preparing to enter administration.”
“But for this to happen, all data must be available and at the moment I still do not have the necessary information in my possession to conclude that the decision really needs to be made in January, otherwise we will lose community funding. associated with this work,” he said.
“I will wait until all these elements are communicated to us,” he said, assuring that he does not have any talks planned with the Prime Minister for the time being.
The PSD president said the party is prepared “not to postpone what is not good for the country to be postponed, but also not to rush what the country can wait for in order to make good and conscious decisions.”
“The country demands a sense of responsibility from all of us so that an investment with financing of this magnitude is not lost because of the political situation,” he stated, considering that if there is no risk of losing it, “it is good practice” to conclude is taken by the executive leaving the early parliamentary elections on March 10.
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
