The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, defended on Friday in Parliament that the Government, "in office for only a month, has already made "decisions that implied a lifetime", congratulating himself on the most recent decision on the location of the new Lisbon airport, which he described as "an epic that had been dragging on for too long and that was conditioning the evolution of our country". 

In his first speech in this debate, the minister began by highlighting that the Executive intends to "build Portugal", a "collective future", which can "no longer be postponed". 

"It is also with this future in mind that we made the decision on the location of the new Lisbon airport. A little over a year ago, together with the previous government, we defined a methodology, created a technical and independent commission and studied the various locations. I would say all possible locations. The time for technicians has come to an end, and the time for politicians, the time for decisions, has come. And the decision, so long postponed, has been made", he said.

"An epic that had been dragging on for too long and that was conditioning the evolution of our country", he stressed.

In the opening of the debate, Pinto Luz also gave an indirect response to doubts that have been raised by the PS Secretary-General, Pedro Nuno Santos, about the increase in the number of flights at the current Humberto Delgado Airport.

"Humberto Delgado Airport has long since failed to provide the necessary response. It is permanently occupying the worst places in service 'rankings'. We need to intervene, we need to increase the number of possible movements, we need to ensure that, even knowing that it is temporary -- temporarily -- Humberto Delgado Airport serves Lisbon and Portugal with dignity", he said.

"That is why interventions will also be made here. We will modernize and increase the capacity of our old and now provisional airport", he assured. Thus, he said: "The Government may have been in office for only a month, but we have already made decisions that implied a lifetime". 

Housing "should not be a political weapon"

Earlier, the Minister of Infrastructure had also spoken about the most recent measures announced for  housing, defending that it "should not be a political weapon" and thanked the parties for agreeing to dialogue with the Government.

"I have no doubt that if there is a matter that unites this chamber, it is the sense of urgency towards the housing crisis. Rather than pointing fingers, than playing the usual blame game, the Government is focused on developing solutions", defended Pinto Luz.

The minister added that, "if there is a matter that, due to its urgency, should not be a political weapon, it is undoubtedly housing".

"It is fair to thank you for accepting this challenge and for the sense of responsibility that everyone, without exception, brought to these meetings. For this healthy dialectic that honors democracy and elevates us all as political agents", he concluded, referring to the meetings with the opposition benches, which took place in Parliament on Thursday.

[News updated at 10:38 am]

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