Portugal’s government has increased the number of projects, and the consequent budget, for the nation's infrastructural redevelopment as 59 now will receive funding.
The total investment over the next eight years will be an estimated €6,067 million most of which in the port, maritime and rail sectors.
Priorities have been listed in a report prepared by the Working Group for Infrastructure of High Value Added, a report that the Government will forward today to Brussels, the outline of which was presented by the Minister of the Economy at a press conference in Lisbon today.
In the south, a railway link from the ports of Sines, Setúbal and Lisbon will at last connect to Spain and the rest of Europe.
In the Algarve, the plan considers a rail link to Faro airport as a priority as well as the redevelopment of the Portimão and Faro docks in a total Algarve investment of €131 million.
António Pires de Lima announced that the planned investment will be funded by EU funds and private money. "It is an ambitious plan, but €6,067 million over eight years also shows discretion and prudence," said the minister.
Pires de Lima estimates that the EU will fund around 50%, private interests a goodly chunk, leaving the taxpayer to pick up the tab for €1,400 to €1,700 million.
As part of the Algarve’s portion, the railway will be upgraded and modernised in addition to the new Faro airport link.
The government at last has admitted that the Algarve is a strategic sector of the economy and that both tourism and business will benefit from the rail upgrade and ports’ development. However, the new masterplan ignores totally the long-promised work to redevelop the EN125 road across the region which is in a shameful state and overcrowded, especially in peak tourist season as vehicles avoid using the tolled Via do Infante motorway.
The admission that the Algarve is an important part of Portugal's economy is not matched by the apportioned investment - €131 million out of a toal spend of €6,067 million.
The president of the Algarve's Tourism Board of course welcomed the Government's decision to include Faro airport, the Algarve railway line and the ports of Faro and Portimão among the priority investments in the country but again called for urgent action to sort out the state of the EN 125 road.
To Desiderio Silva, "the redevelopment of the EN 125 that runs through the Algarve should have been completed by now,” and he points to three reason for the urgent and overdue work to recommence, “accident reduction, mobility across the region and the image it gives tourists visiting the country."
Silva added that the “EN125 construction and repair work should proceed regardless of whether it is part of this overall infrastructure plan, or not.”
