It was at the headquarters of Infraestruturas de Portugal, in Pragal (Almada), that the Prime Minister, António Costa, together with the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, presented the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) for infrastructures which will be reflected in the construction of new roads and the requalification of others.
Of the total 45 billion euros that Portugal will receive from the "European bazooka" — the name by which the EU Recovery Fund became known — 520 million euros are earmarked for infrastructure, which will have to become work done by 2026 — a tight deadline for execution, dictated by Brussels.
In the words of the Prime Minister himself: “We have less time than usual. We have financial commitments made until 2023 and the entire work must be completed in 2026, otherwise we will not receive these funds”.
bet on tar
Despite the resistance of the European Commission, which wants the national plans to have a special focus on environmental issues and energy transition, the truth is that the national RRP reveals a strong investment in tar, with the construction of highways and rehabilitation of others. Despite the role played by asphalt, António Costa says that the biggest national investment, in the context of European funding, will be in the railway.According to António Costa, the works for new roads announced are a way of “decarbonising urban centres”, with the majority of interventions being a few kilometers long, “but they radically transform the territory”, with the only major work being in the route that will connect Beja to Sines (benefiting the connection to the terminal, port and railway).
Pedro Nuno Santos also reinforced that the main objective is to remove “vehicles from urban areas or direct them to high-capacity corridors” and, therefore, “increase the capacity and safety of road sections with a high degree of congestion and level degraded service — such as the EN14, where the average daily traffic is close to 22 000 vehicles per day, or the connection to Sines, where 11% of the volume of traffic corresponds to heavy vehicles”.
António Laranjo, president of Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), explained how IP's work fits into three investment groups, shared with the municipalities:
- Missing Links and Network Capacity Increase, with an estimated investment of 313 million euros;
- Cross-border links, with an investment of around 65 million euros;
- Road access to Business Reception Areas, with an investment of around 142 million euros.
New roads. At where?
The construction of new roads and the upgrading of existing ones were divided between the aforementioned three investment groups, namely Missing Links and Increase in Network Capacity, Cross-border Links and Road Accessibility to Business Reception Areas.
Missing Links and Increased Network Capacity — CONSTRUCTION:
- EN14. Maia (Via Diagonal) / Trofa Road-Rail Interface, which promote modal transfer to rail transport (Minho Line);
- EN14. Trofa / Santana road-rail interface, including a new bridge over the Ave River;
- EN4. Atalaia bypass, which allows the removal of traffic crossing this urban area;
- IC35. Penafiel (EN15) / Rans;
- IC35. Rans / Between the Rivers;
- IP2. East variant of Évora6;
- Aveiro – Águeda Highway Axis, allowing a direct connection between Águeda and Aveiro, promoting the modal transfer to maritime and railway transport;;
- EN125. Variant to Olhão, which allows the removal of traffic crossing this urban area;
- Variant to the EN211 – Quintã / Mesquinhata, which promote modal transfer to rail transport (Douro Line);
Missing Links and Network Capacity Increase — REQUALIFICATION:
- EN344. km 67+800 to km 75+520 – Pampilhosa da Serra;
- IC2 (EN1). Meirinhas (km 136.700) / Pombal (km 148.500);
- IP8 (A26). Capacity increase in the connection between Sines and the A2.
Missing Links and Network Capacity Increase — CONSTRUCTION AND REQUALIFICATION:
- Connection between Baião and Ermida Bridge (approximately 50% of new lane construction) [13];
- IP8 (EN121). Ferreira do Alentejo / Beja, including the Beringel Variant (only the Beringel Variant, corresponding to 16% of the route, is the construction of a new section);
- IP8 (EN259). Santa Margarida do Sado / Ferreira do Alentejo, including the Figueira de Cavaleiros Bypass (only the Figueira de Cavaleiros Bypass, corresponding to 18% of the route, is the construction of a new section).
Cross-border links — CONSTRUCTION:
- International bridge over the River Sever;
- Alcoutim – Saluncar de Guadiana Bridge (ES).
Cross-border links — CONSTRUCTION AND REQUALIFICATION:
- EN103. Vinhais / Bragança (variants), where the variants, being the construction of a new section, correspond to only 16% of the route to be intervened;
- Connection between Bragança and Puebla de Sanabria (ES), with only 0.5% of new track construction.
Road Accessibility to Business Reception Areas — CONSTRUCTION:
- Connection of the A8 to the Palhagueiras Business Area in Torres Vedras;
- Connection of the Cabeça de Porca Industrial Area (Felgueiras) to the A11;
- Improved accessibility to the Lavagueiras Business Location Area (Castelo de Paiva);
- Improved accessibility to the Campo Maior Industrial Area;
- Variant to the EN248 (Arruda dos Vinhos);
- Variant of Aljustrel – Improved accessibility to the Mining Extraction Zone and the Business Location Area;
- Via do Tâmega – Variant to the EN210 (Celorico de Basto;
- Connection of the Casarão Business Park to the IC2;
- New crossing of the River Lima between EN203-Deocriste and EN202-Nogueira;
- Access to Avepark – Taipas Science and Technology Park (Guimarães);
- Road access from the Vale do Neiva industrial area to the A28 junction.
Road Accessibility to Business Reception Areas — REQUALIFICATION:
- Connection to the Mundão Industrial Park – Elimination of constraints on the EN229 Viseu / Sátão;
- Accessibility to the Industrial Area of Riachos;
- Access from Camporês Business Park to IC8 (Ansião);
- EN10-4. Setúbal / Mitrena;
- Connection to the Fontiscos Industrial Area and reformulation of the Ermida Junction (Santo Tirso);
- Connection of the Industrial Area of Rio Maior to the EN114;
- Roundabout on the EN246 for access to the industrial zone of Portalegre.
Road Accessibility to Business Reception Areas — CONSTRUCTION AND REQUALIFICATION:
- Connection to Mundão Industrial Park: EN229 – ex-IP5 / Mundão Industrial Park (approximately 47% of new lane construction).
Source: Observer and Infrastructure of Portugal.