PM to meet mayors of councils opposing building of Montijo airport

The Prime Minister appealed for “common sense” in the conflict between the government and local authorities in the Lisbon and Setúbal region who oppose the construction of the new Montijo airport, and with whom he will meet on Wednesday.

“Above all, I believe that common sense will prevail,” António Costa told reporters who questioned whether he still believes the new airport will be built.

He said that “over the years” the government “has maintained permanent contact with all the mayors of the Lisbon region” and there will be “another series of meetings with the six mayors who have to give their opinion on this matter”.

The idea is, he described, to “listen to the position” of the councils and “see how it is possible to respond to concerns that are legitimate” of each one of them to “respond to something that is not a mere priority of the government, it is a national priority, which is to solve the problem of airport capacity in the Lisbon region”.

The meeting will be on Wednesday morning and the mayors of Alcochete, Barreiro, Lisbon, Moita, Montijo and Seixal will be received by António Costa and Pedro Nuno Santos.

The construction of the airport in Montijo can only proceed with a favourable opinion from the councils affected by the work, according to the current law.

The Mayor of Moita (CDU), Rui Garcia, has already expressed his opposition to the construction of the airport in Montijo, which could condition the construction, since the law provides that the work can only advance if it receives a favorable opinion from all municipalities affected.

Following this position, the Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos, admitted reviewing the law so that the municipalities do not stop the construction of the new airport of Lisbon, but the PSD and the parties on the left are against this hypothesis.