“I think so, [that the new airport can be built by 2030], especially if we come to the conclusion that the World Cup is enough justification to have a [new] airport, to bring fans and teams to Portugal”, said Rosário Partidário.

“Portugal, in all the major initiatives it has had, always has a very strong motivation factor. Either it's Expo 98, or it's the Youth Days. And, perhaps, it’s good to have the World Cup as a justification for having an infrastructure like this prepared to receive the demand that will eventually exist,” she added.

Rosário Partidário spoke to journalists after participating in a meeting, promoted by the civic platform against the construction of the new airport at Montijo Air Base, to celebrate the Government's decision to build the new airport at Campo de Tiro de Alcochete (CTA), which was considered the best option by CTI.

“It is feasible [to build the new airport by 2030] if there is planning, organisation and quick decisions”, highlighted Rosário Partidário.

At the meeting held at the Society “Os Franceses”, in Barreiro, in the district of Setúbal, in which she was praised and honoured by the civic platform for the “quality and exemption” of the work carried out by the CTI, Rosário Partidário also warned of the need to do “a master plan” for the new airport.

Huge impact

“This is an infrastructure that will have a huge territorial impact, because, obviously, it will attract a lot of demand from the point of view of industries, companies, infrastructure services, all of this. And therefore, it cannot happen by chance. There has to be a master plan, which, in fact, was already foreseen in the previous project”.

Rosário Partidário also considered that, if there is good planning, be it territorial master planning or construction planning, involving all actors who are relevant to the development of the project, the new airport “will not take long to build”.