This followed statements from the Sea Minister, Ana Paula Vitorino, that the project could proceed if the private sector assumes responsibility for the cost and if environmental studies come back positive.
“By invoking arguments that are outdated in respect of the current port reality, it is suggested that the government intends to make the Portuguese State a guarantor for private investors to guarantee a facility that is unnecessary, redundant and ruinous,” said the ACP.
The ACP’s own study into Barreiro indicated that the new container terminal would not be viable, or even useful for the country’s box handling requirements. The study was handed over to Ms Vitorino in June.