Airport or Civil Terminal is not a relevant issue for the PCP. On the possibility of the Alcochete Shooting Field being transferred to the municipalities of Mértola and Serpa “we are not yet commenting”.
In a statement, the Direction of the Regional Organization of Beja (DORBE) of the PCP considered that the infrastructure can “immediately” help to “extend the capacity in the transport of goods” and “support the remaining air traffic to the south of the country”.
The PCP argues that Beja airport “has all the conditions right away” and should be “placed at the service of the country”, given the “expected increase in tourist flow” and the “great saturation” in Lisbon and Faro.
Asked about the reasons that lead the PCP to call the Beja Civil Terminal airport, José Maria Post Mine, considered “not to be a relevant issue”, justifying that the fact that most of the infrastructure’s valences are military “are issues of detail and not relevant. Whoever has the responsibility of management has to take the appropriate measures.
Post de Mina justified that Lisbon airport “is almost in national emergency. The most serious problem is the physical infrastructure, It’s a matter of political will.”, remembering that the PCP always “defended” the use of Beja and the construction of the new airport at Campo de Tiro de Alcochete.
Placed on the fact that the Alcochete Shooting Range was moved to the so-called “Serra Serpa”, in the municipalities of Serpa and Mértola, the PCP’s Dorbe leader maintains that “we are still not commenting on the civil part. About the Shooting Field being moved to those municipalities, we do not comment”, concluded.
Mértola / Serpa: Relocation of the Alcochete Shooting Range.
The “first steps” to move the infrastructure to Vale no Poço, place also known as “Factories”, in the municipalities of Mértola and Serpa, were given in 22 November 2007. twelve years later, the then Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CEMFA), returned to the subject and the project for the new shooting range.
It was the end of a parliamentary hearing, realizada a 16 January 2019, and aimed at providing clarification on the implications of the construction of a civil airport at the military base of Montijo, o general Manuel Rolo, justified that “withdrawal for now from the relocation plans, the Alcochete shooting range is a variable that can not get out of the equation ", stressing that it is essential for the operation of the F-16 aircraft.
General CEMFA justified that the higher charge would be carried out with the transfer of the Alcochete Shooting Field to the Mértola/Serpa area, between 2024 and 2036: the cost will exceed 242 million.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
