The Minister of Infrastructures, João Galamba, said today that the revision of the legal framework for the port sector will be “approved very soon”, estimating that it will enable “more appropriate concessions for investment”.
João Galamba was speaking at the signing ceremony for the protocol launching the second phase (of four) of the modernization of the Alcântara container terminal in Lisbon, between the Lisbon Port Authority (APL) and concessionaire Yilport Liscont.
The Minister declared that this was not just a “bureaucratic step”, but also a projection into the near future “in which very concrete measures are being taken to respond to the challenges and concerns of the sector”.
The Minister recalled the Strategic Orientations for the port sector, which will serve as the basis for the development of each national port.
“The revision of the entire legal regime that we are undertaking, some measures of which will be approved very shortly, is a real opportunity to grant concessions that are better suited to investment, in order to attract more and better investment to our ports and make them more competitive”, said João Galamba.
The Minister recalled that the Alcântara terminal plays a “strategic role”, offering direct links with the United States, Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean, and is a “vital connection point” for maritime trade.
Lisbon Port Board Chairman Carlos Correia also praised the protocol, calling it an “important step” in a project of “great national strategic importance” and reflecting “an investment plan that aims to achieve gains in competitiveness and sustainability”.
“The recent marks and wounds are over”, he declared, recalling the “successive strikes” by dockworkers in the past, stressing that the investment “gives soul and conviction that it will change” and that the Port of Lisbon “is back”.
The second phase will include the construction of the new maintenance and support building, the resurfacing of the rest of the terminal area and the renovation of the entire waiting area.
The investment, worth 123.8 million euros, will be devoted to infrastructure works and the purchase and installation of equipment and technology.
The investment plan, implemented by port operator Yilport Liscont, has now entered the second of four phases, running until 2035.
The Alcântara terminal is one of the main port infrastructures for imports and exports in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
The modernization of the Alcântara container terminal involves, among other things, the acquisition of new gantry cranes, the relocation of buildings, the demolition of the TERLIS and Vasco da Gama buildings, the construction of new accesses and the reformulation of the container yard area.
Last December, the Lisbon Port Authority and the concession holder for the Alcântara container terminal signed an amendment to the concession, which runs until 2038.
Once completed, the terminal will be able to handle 662,347 containers a year, and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 88%.
