The diplomas related to the "location" and "development" of Luís de Camões Airport, as well as the conclusion of the "studies for the third Tejo crossing" (TTT), which should connect Chelas, in Lisbon, to Barreiro, on the South Bank, were published in the Official Gazette (DR).

"Regarding the location of the new airport in Lisbon, the Government believes that the construction of a new international airport at Campo de Tiro de Alcochete, which will fully replace Humberto Delgado Airport, offers the greatest comparative advantages compared to all other options considered", reads the document.

The Executive also highlights as advantages the location "entirely on public land, without the need to resort to expropriations", as well as the "greater proximity to the center of Lisbon and greater economic potential in its area of influence compared to Vendas Novas".

The Alcochete option will also be more positive, says the Government, because "the need for basic technical studies, for the establishment of a procedure aimed at obtaining an environmental impact statement and for expropriations introduce greater uncertainty in the Vendas Novas option".

The Government also emphasizes that "in terms of the environment and public health, the location of the airport at Campo de Tiro de Alcochete had already been subject to an environmental impact assessment with the issuance of an environmental impact statement, which has since expired".

Government "mandates" IP to "conclude studies" on the third Tejo crossing. Proposal by June 2026

At the same time, the Council of Ministers resolution that "mandates" Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) to "conclude the studies for the third Tejo crossing" - which will connect Chelas, in Lisbon, to Barreiro, on the South Bank - "by the end of 2024" was also published in the DR.

It is also determined that IP "promote, by the end of the first quarter of 2026, demand studies, studies on resilience to climate change, cost-benefit analyses, preliminary studies and environmental impact studies", and that, by the end of the second semester of that same year, "submit a well-founded proposal to the Government that allows a decision to be made regarding the contracting and management model to be adopted".

The decisions made regarding IP are also valid for another construction project: The Lisbon-Poceirão-Évora high-speed line, which will connect Lisbon to Madrid.

The necessary expenditure for the execution of the studies is also authorized, for the three-year period 2025-2028, up to a maximum global amount of four million euros, to which is added the value-added tax (VAT) at the legal rate in force.

Government plans "measures to reinforce capacity" of Lisbon Airport

The Council of Ministers resolution that "provides for measures to reinforce the capacity of Humberto Delgado Airport" was also published in the Official Gazette.

"According to the report of the Independent Technical Commission (CTI), the new Lisbon airport would never be operational before 2030. In this sense, it becomes evident that, in the short and medium term, the solution is based on reinforcing the capacity of Humberto Delgado Airport", the document argues.

Several decisions were then made in this regard, mainly addressed to ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal, Navegação Aérea de Portugal - NAV Portugal and the National Civil Aviation Authority, "in close collaboration with the Ministry of National Defense".

On March 11, the CTI published the final report of the strategic environmental assessment of the new airport, maintaining the recommendation of a single solution in Alcochete, the most advantageous, or Vendas Novas, but pointed out that Humberto Delgado + Santarém could be a transitional solution.

The PSD decided to set up an internal working group to analyze the location of the new Lisbon airport, after having agreed with the PS to set up a CTI to carry out the strategic environmental assessment.

The social-democratic president, Luís Montenegro, guaranteed, before being elected, that the decision would be made "in the first days" of the Government.

[News updated at 10:23 am]

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