The president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said on Friday that he hopes that the development of the railway will be “one of the achievements” of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and that it will be completed in the next semester and in 2024. expects to see him already “on the ground”.
“We all hope that the railway is one of the results of the recovery and resilience plan,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who expected his arrival in Peso da Régua for the celebration of the Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities.
When asked by journalists whether he was satisfied with the implementation of the PRR, the statesman stressed that he was “one of the first to draw attention” to the importance of, in 2023 and 2024, in addition to obtaining and contracting public funds, “reach to the ground”.
“We know how difficult public procurement is in Portugal, it’s slow, it’s complicated and how one thing is to move the process forward and then see them in the field,” he said.
And he added: “what we all hope for is that in the second half of 2023, because the first half is over, and in 2024, I am not saying everything, but of the six billion euros that we have already received, there will be more than 1.9 or two billion euros effective on the ground”.
The implementation of the PRR remains at 17% of the milestones and targets agreed with the European Union.
At the end of May, Portugal submitted to Brussels a proposal for the reprogramming of the PRR, the allocation of which exceeds EUR 22,000 million. The European Commission must respond to this proposal by July at the latest.
If approved, with the reprogramming, Portugal will have 41 additional measures, 11 reforms and 30 investments.
The total amount of the PRR (16,644 million euros – initial value), managed by the structure of the mission to restore Portugal, is divided by the three structuring dimensions – resilience (11,125 million euros), climate transition (3,059 million euros) and digital transition (2,460 million euros).
Of the total allocation (€16,644 million), approximately €13,900 million corresponds to grants and €2,700 million to loans.
This plan has an implementation period until 2026 and aims to implement a series of reforms and investments to restore economic growth.
This plan not only aims to repair the damage caused by covid-19, but also aims to support investment and create jobs.
Source: DN
