These are “two important moments”, which will occur “even in this first quarter”, and which “mark the beginning of the construction of this railway axis,” Prime Minister António Costa said in Évora today.
In a meeting with the Regional Council of the Alentejo Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDRA), the head of government pointed out that the Southern Railway Corridor is “one of the most structuring investments in Portugal 2020”.
The project “will have two important moments in this first quarter,” said António Costa, referring to the “start of the tender for the construction of the railway line in the Évora – Elvas section” and the beginning of “physical work between Elvas and the border “of Caia.
The Southern Railway Corridor “is absolutely essential so that we can make a good insertion” of the entire Alentejo region in Europe, but also to “properly assess this extraordinary Atlantic platform that the region has, which is the port of Sines,” he said. .
The Prime Minister pointed out that Alentejo “is a region capable of projecting itself in the world through its Atlantic belt, but it is also capable of being a great platform for affirmation throughout the Iberian market and in Europe, through this railway line and of all the vast territory that it has next to the border with Spain “.
At the end of the meeting, neither the Prime Minister nor the Minister of Planning and Infrastructure, Pedro Marques, also present at the session, wanted to make statements to journalists.
In December, the Planning Ministry announced the launch, in the first quarter of 2018, of public tenders for the construction of the railway section between Évora and Elvas, integrated in the cargo connection of the International South Corridor.
In question are the ordinances, already published in Diário da República, which authorize the guardianship to contract the works to build the sections between Freixo and Alandroal, between Évora Norte and Freixo and still between Alandroal and Linha do Leste and they have not yet been done. a contract for the provision of services for the inspection of these works, which implies a new railway connection from Évora to Linha do Leste (next to Elvas), in the Southern International Corridor.
“These ordinances will allow the launch of these tenders in the first quarter of 2018,” explained the Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure in a written response sent to the Lusa agency.
In total, the investment is around 422 million euros, of which 264 million euros are reimbursed by the State and the remaining funds – 158 million euros – are financed by community funds, under the Connect Europe Program ( CEF), according to a situation report sent to Lusa.
The document establishes that the largest portion of investment refers to the Alandroal-Linha do Leste link (220 million euros), followed by the Freixo-Alandroal link (105 million euros) and the Évora Norte-Freixo link (70 million euros) . euros), while the inspection will cost 27 million euros.
At that time, the guardianship emphasized that “this section is essential to complete an international railway corridor” and that, in Portugal, “it will complete the connection between the ports of Sines and Setúbal and the border with Spain”.
SOURCE: 24.SAPO.PT
