Lisbon, Nov. 13, 2024 (Lusa) - The Lisbon city council's Drainage Plan envisages an investment of €79 million by 2025, according to the municipal budget proposal presented on Wednesday by the deputy mayor, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP).
"The year 2025 is very important. We have earmarked €79 million [for the Drainage Plan]. It's a project that's progressing well," said the deputy mayor.
Representing the PSD/CDS-PP leadership on the Lisbon city council, Anacoreta Correia presented this morning at the city hall a proposed municipal budget of €1.359 billion for 2025, slightly higher than the €1.303 billion planned for this year.
Giving some details of what is planned for 2025 in relation to this work, the deputy mayor said that the Santa Apolónia tunnel is due to be completed and that 50% of the first tunnel will be built.
"It's a demanding project. You often don't see the results because it's underground, but I think everyone, not least because of what has been happening in various countries, even next door in Spain, we all understand the importance of this investment," he argued.
With a total investment of around €250 million, Lisbon's General Drainage Plan - first announced in 2006, but which only went ahead in 2015, with Fernando Medina (PS) as mayor - is considered an important project to tackle flooding in the capital, but the major projects, namely the construction of tunnels, only started in 2023 under the presidency of Carlos Moedas (PSD).
The first tunnel, in Campolide, is already being built.
This is the last municipal budget of this mandate (2021-2025), proposed by the PSD/CDS-PP leadership under Carlos Moedas (PSD), who governs Lisbon without an absolute majority. If approved, it will be implemented in a municipal election year.
The first three budgets of the PSD/CDS-PP leadership were approved thanks to the PS abstaining, with the rest of the opposition - PCP, BE, Livre and Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) - voting against.
In the city council's budget for 2024, expenditure is estimated at €1.3 billion, "very much in line" with 2023.
Currently, the Lisbon city council executive, which is made up of 17 members, and includes seven elected members of the "Novos Tempos" coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) - who are the only ones with assigned portfolios and who govern without an absolute majority - three from the PS, two from the PCP, three from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), one from Livre and one from BE.
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