A government working group has identified 89 infrastructure projects and has listed 30 as priorities. Most are related to the port sector and the expansion of the Port of Sines is one of the priorities.
One of the government’s stated aims is for a 50% increase in turnover from the maritime sector by 2020.
The working group was appointed by the Government in August 2013 to study national priorities for infrastructure projects for between 2014 and 2020. It now has a total of 89 projects to ponder, with a price tag of €13.5 billion.
The list was quickly pared down to the top 30 but now the working group has submitted its report the Government, no doubt shocked at the cost of years of underinvestment, wants to ‘start a public discussion around the findings of the working group’ as the report is being viewed solely as a basis for discussion.
The top 30 projects have an estimated cost of €5.08 billion of which 25% would be from the public purse, the remainder from EC funds and private investment..
Most projects are to do with ports infrastructure with the expansion of the container terminal at the port of Leixões and the expansion of a container terminal in Sines seen as priorities.
The Algarve has 2 projects listed in the top 30. At number 20 is the ‘improvement of the maritime access and facilities at the ports of Portimão and Faro (Investment €55 million) and number 26 is for the long-overdue ‘upgrading and electrification of the Algarve Line (Investment €55 million euros).
Noticeably there was no mention at all of the need for roadworks on the crumbling EN125.
The working group is composed of 19 organisations led by the president of the Business Association of Portugal, José Eduardo Carvalho.
The top 30 projects to be debated in parliament are :
1 Extension of the container terminal at the port of Leixões (Investment: 38 million euros)
2 Completion of the modernisation of the Linha do Norte (Investment: 400 million euros)
3 Expansion of the Container Terminal XXI of Sines (Investment: 139 million euros)
4 Improvement of maritime accessibility and optimisation of the port of Setúbal (Investment: 25 million euros)
5 Conclusions of the work of Marão Tunnel (Investment: € 173 million)
6 New container terminal in the port of Leixões (Investment: 200 million euros)
7 New container terminal in the port of Lisbon (Investment: 600 million euros)
8 New cruise terminal of the port of Leixões (Investment: 12 million euros)
9 New cargo terminal at Lisbon airport (Investment: EUR 5 million)
10 Modernisation of rail sections between Aveiro and Vilar Formoso ( Investment: 900 million euros )
11 New Cruise Terminal in Lisbon ( Investment: € 25.2 million)
12 Increased efficiency of existing container terminals Alcantara (Investment: EUR 46.6 million)
13 Entry of larger vessels in the port of Aveiro (Investment: € 1 million)
14 Logistic platform - port of Leixões (Investment: 180 million euros)
15 Logistic activities and expansion of Cacia Aveiro (Investment: EUR 53.9 million)
16 Corrections at the mouth of the rivers Tua and Sabor (Investment: 50 million euros)
17 Upgrading and electrification of the Minho line (Investment: 145 million euros)
18 Expansion of the Ro-Ro terminal in the port of Setúbal (Investment: EUR 3.5 million)
19 Improvement of operating conditions of the terminals at the port of Aveiro (Investment: EUR 3.5 million)
20 Improvement of the maritime access and facilities at the ports of Portimao and Faro (Investment: 55 million euros)
21 Work on the locks on the Douro river (Investment: 24 million euros)
22 Construction of the IP3 between Coimbra and Viseu (Investment: 600 million euros)
23 Modernisation of the Linha de Cascais (Investment: 160 million euros)
24 Upgrading and electrification of the Linha do Sul (Investment: 20 million euros)
25 Rail links to the port of Sines (Investment: EUR 1,000 million)
26 Upgrading and electrification of the Linha do Algarve (Investment: 55 million euros)
27 Reformulation and integration of cargo terminals at national airports (Investment: EUR 5 million)
28 Reactivation of the Siderurgia Nacional docks at Seixal (Investment: € 6 million)
29 Upgrading and electrification of the Linha do Oeste (Investment: 135 million euros)
30 Deepening the channel and harbour at Figueira da Foz (Investment: 25 million euros)
