At long last, the strategic rail link connecting Faro airport to the rest of the Algarve looks like getting funding. The government has forwarded 59 “national priority investments” to the European Union, and the link connecting Faro airport to the Algarve line is one of them. Also included in the package is the long-awaited upgrade of the region’s much-maligned railways and improvements to Portimão and Faro ports.
In total, the government is planning €131 million to be spent on improvements in the Algarve. These are just a fraction of the €6 billion investment package planned for the rest of the country, however.
All the investments are in need of EU support, economy minister Pires de Lima told journalists – with at least 50% coming from either Brussels or private investors.
In the Algarve, €66 million will be going towards the rail link, €55 million on improvements to the Tunes-Lagos and Faro-Vila Real de Santo António lines and €10 million on the two ports.
Elsewhere in the country, 44% of the €6 billion will be invested in railways, 25% on other ports, 15% on roads and 4% on airports.
Minister Pires de Lima suggested expenditure would be spread over eight years or so, as “a sign of caution and prudence”.
