Think Railways

The government has approved a total of 59 priority investment projects primarily focusing on the maritime and rail transport sectors and involving total financing of EUR 6.067 billion and submitted to Brussels for approval on Friday, Economy Minister António Pires de Lima has told a press conference.

Pires de Lima said that the projects were applying for 50% European funding with the remaining coming from public and private partnerships with the Portuguese state providing no more than between EUR 1.4 and EUR 1.7 billion.

Describing the eight year time-frame as “an ambitious plan,” Pires de Lima handed over to State Secretary for Infrastructures, Transports and Communications, Sérgio Monteiro, to provide the details.

In turn, Monteiro explained that the key priorities included the development of the ports of Leixões, Lisbon and Sines as well as the railways running between Porto and Vigo, Lisbon and Porto and the line running west out of Lisbon and accounting for EUR 2.435 million of the investment total.

This made up the Atlantic Corridor and only one among several with the North taken into consideration with its ports due to be linked up to Vilar Formoso as well as completion of the Marão tunnel while the ports of Sines, Lisbon and Setúbal are due to get an upgraded cargo railway connection to Spain.

Source*http://www.theportugalnews.com