COMPANIES bidding for the right to build the new international airport at Ota must guarantee road and rail access.
This condition was highlighted by Minister of Finance Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, at a meeting of the Airport Business Plan, in which the minister stated that the government would have to evaluate the economic viability of the high speed rail link before deciding on how much public funding the government will inject into the project.
Preliminary data shows that public investment will account for around 40 per cent of the infrastructure total cost, worth three billion euros.
The option of setting up a high speed shuttle service between Lisbon and the airport running four times an hour, will depend on the eventual airport consortia’s ability to support the costs of building the line.
According to studies, such a branch line would be more complex and more costly than any other part of the line, comprising various kilometres of tunnels and viaducts in order to enter Lisbon from the north, as well as a station at Ota.
The interested parties are awaiting the definition and clarification of the operating business model, which the state is likely to award to ANA (the soon-to-be-privatised public airport authority company).
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