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The Government has already presented the National Investment Program (PNI) 2030, a program devastated by economists heard by SOL. João César das Neves admits that he did not even study the plan because he considered it “a proforma document, only to be delivered in Brussels, without any practical interest”.
And it goes further: “If it were serious, they would not have asked a person, but they would have used the resources of the Ministries, which are the ones who really know the issues. That is why this program, which is certainly competent and has nothing wrong, will be irrelevant in determining what will be done with the money, when it arrives in the next few years. At that moment, whoever is in the government decides what they want, “he tells SOL.
Mira Amaral also gives the government program a red card. “From what I understand, these projects will be carried out in the long term. It will be during the next century and we forget the fundamental connections, ”he tells SOL. In the economist’s opinion, there are lines that are considered priority and that were forgotten by the Government. And take as an example the connection Vilar Formoso / Samanca and Sines / Lisboa / Caia and Badajoz. These connections don’t think about them. This doesn’t make sense because for Lisbon / Porto I don’t need high speed, I need a decent line that allows me to make the trip in 2 hours. The millions that cost more do not make up for what we earn. Once again, the Government forgets about Portuguese competitiveness and this is seen through the connections it presented ”, he tells SOL.
In the economist’s opinion, “the European width of Aveiro / Vilaformoso / Salamanca and Sines sur / Lisboa / Caia / Badajoz should have been prioritized to increase the competitiveness of Portuguese ports and companies, but this is ignored because the Government followed Recommendations of Costa Silva ».
Regarding the high-speed project between Lisbon / Porto, Mira Amaral has no doubts: “We need a decent line to make this trip in 2 hours, for me it was enough. The funny thing is that the Alfa does 200 km per hour, but there are sections of the line that travel very slowly and it is on the line and not on the rolling stock.
For Mira Amaral there is nothing new in these projects, since she understands that in the State Budgets for next year “the dimension of business competitiveness is forgotten and, therefore, there is no concern about having the lines that are necessary. This government is not concerned about business competitiveness, “he concludes.
Despite the criticisms, the Executive led by António Costa explains that this program is a «fundamental instrument in planning the application of the next two tables of European funds, defining a set of investments in equipment and infrastructures in the areas of Transport, Environment, Energy and Irrigation for the decade from 2021 to 2030 ”, based on three strategic designs: cohesion, competitiveness and innovation and sustainability.
Thus, the PNI includes a set of 85 different programs and projects for a total value of 43,000 million euros. 21,600 million euros of investment are allocated for transport and mobility, with the railway being the area with the highest volume. The environment has 7,400 million euros, energy 13 billion euros and irrigation 750 million euros.
‘Muscular’ sector
Presenting this plan, the Prime Minister said that the country needs a “muscular” national construction sector. “Let no one be under any illusions, no country produces goods and services with high added value and marketable on the global market if it is not equipped with a good infrastructure. Let no one be under any illusions that we are going to develop only with more and better agri-food production, or that we are only going to have more and better industry, ”said António Costa.
The railway is one of the most prominent areas of this NIP, since in the next ten years, the State will invest more than ten billion euros (of the 21.660 million destined to transport) in 16 railway projects from north to south of the country .
The objective of these projects, according to the program, is “to improve safety and traffic conditions, reduce operating costs, comply with the current legal framework regarding the exposure of the population to high noise levels and strengthen the railway network against the uncertainties generated. climate change ‘.
The new Porto – Lisbon Line (4,500 million euros), a program to increase the capacity of the railway network in metropolitan areas (290 million euros), a railway safety program, renovation and rehabilitation, noise reduction and adaptation to change (450 million euros), ERTMS / ETCS + GSM-R implementation and signaling program (270 million euros), Electrification and Strengthening of the National Railway Network program (740 million euros), telematics program, security of stations and operation (165 million euros), multimodal terminal improvement program (200 million euros), modernization of rail links to Beja and Faro (230 million euros), modernization of Linha do Vouga (100 million euros), connection of the Cascais Line to the beltline (200 million euros), the first phase of the new Porto – Valença – Vigo line (900 million euros), the South International corridor (150 million euros), the second phase of the North International corridor (600 million euros) are the projects that will be carried out over the next ten years on the national railway, in addition to the purchase of new urban trains (680 million euros), new long-distance trains ( 685 million euros) and regional (385 million euros). millions of euros).
For the Minister of Infrastructure, there is no doubt that “the era of motorways is over” with all this investment in the national railway. Pedro Nuno Santos maintains that “rail is now a European priority, but in Portugal we don’t have the best record.” “For decades it was thought that the railway had passed. But what makes this lack of national commitment strange is the added value that the railroad can provide “, said the official, who has no doubts that” the replacement of the car will allow the country to be less dependent on imports. The railway makes a very important contribution. ‘ For now, priorities in this area include the Porto-Lisbon and Porto-Vigo connections.
Investments in energy more than triple
The document does not forget the energy sector to which funds worth 13,060 million euros are allocated – in the previous version of the plan the value was ‘only’ 4,930 million. «For the energy transition, the highest value goes, half of all the investment destined to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action, which amounts to 26,000 million euros. The electro-production system is one of those with the most ambitious goals. To be neutral in carbon emissions in 2050, we must have zero emissions in energy and transport ”, explained the Minister of the Environment, Matos Fernandes. The official also says that, in this sector, “public investment represents very little, less than 10%, and the vast majority are company investments.”
Of the 13,000 million, 724 million will come from public investment and 12,336 million euros from private investment. The promotion of the production of renewable gases and renewable fuels as well as the Industrial project for the production of green hydrogen in Sines are some of the projects.
Showered with 750 million
For irrigation, the PNI foresees 750 million euros with the main objective of increasing the irrigated area and invigorating the existing infrastructures. The guarantee was delivered by the Minister of Agriculture, who stated that, of the total amount, 400 million euros are used to increase the irrigated area and 350 million euros to revitalize the existing irrigation system.
