"I would always have liked the airport to be as close as possible to Viseu, therefore the further north it is the better. However, of course, we accept the study of a commission that was given to us as independent", reacted Fernando Ruas.

The president of the CIM also added that the mayors of Viseu Dão Lafões want to "believe that, as an independent commission, it did the best for the country and, of course, the country is above the region".

"If the independent commission said that it would be indifferent for the new airport to be located in zone A or B, of course we would fight for the location that was closest to our region, because the Centro region does not have any airport", he defended.

Fernando Ruas, who also chairs the Viseu City Council, also defended that "there could be another airport - of another dimension, of course - in the uncovered part of the country, such as the Centro region, since Porto, Lisbon, Beja and the Algarve" are served.

"But the important thing is that this new airport, which has been claimed for over 50 years, already has a decision", highlighted Fernando Ruas.

Now the "appeal is for the railway to also be resolved quickly, because, at this moment, the region has a series of constraints with distant airports and without quick access" to other areas.

"If there is a quick connection, the airport being in Santarém or in Benavente is not a problem. However, we do not have any quick connection and what needs to respond to that is the railway corridor, the so-called Atlantic", he pointed out.

The corridor between Aveiro, Viseu and Salamanca is what, in his opinion, will provide a response, both to the Porto airport and, in the future, with a connection to the TGV, to the new Luís de Camões airport, that is, not having a closer airport, at least there should be a railway".

"And may it be as quickly as possible. We want the national railway plan to be fulfilled, which points to a deadline for 2050, but does not prevent a quicker decision. That is what was important to us, that it was decided more quickly", he defended.

The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, announced this Tuesday that the Government approved the construction of the new airport for the Lisbon region in Alcochete, following the recommendation of the Independent Technical Commission (CTI).

"The Government decided to approve the development of the new Lisbon airport with a view to the full replacement of Humberto Delgado Airport in the Alcochete firing range and to give it the name of Luís de Camões Airport", stated Luís Montenegro, in a declaration to the country, after an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers.

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

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

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

Also Read: Mayor of Barreiro satisfied with airport highlights political consensus (Portuguese version)