Lisbon Metro works force owners to leave the house “for security reasons” | Lisbon
The Environment Minister guaranteed this Thursday that the owners of the fractions that will be temporarily occupied due to the works on the Estrela subway system, in Lisbon, will be compensated and not expropriated and everything is done for “security reasons”.
“There is no expropriation here, no one is expropriating anything. There are four buildings that are not under this work, which is in progress, but which we are going to do next. The buildings predate the general construction regulations and it is impossible to know the projects and the conditions of the buildings”, began by explaining the minister of Environment and Climate Action.
According to the government official, it is “absolutely essential, for security reasons these around 30 families and stores”, to carry out an inspection of those buildings.
João Pedro Matos Fernandes was speaking to journalists on a visit to the agreement well (PV208) and the tunnels connecting Rato station and the future Lisbon Metropolitano station in Estrela.
The Metropolitano de Lisboa circular line project will force the temporary vacancy of four buildings, totaling 25 homes, a process that will take place “only after the New Year period”, the company told Lusa on Monday afternoon. The owners of three fractions that will be “temporarily occupied” by Metropolitano de Lisboa, due to the circular line project, have already signed an agreement with the company, taking 20 awaiting to do so, involving a compensation of 125 thousand euros.
Matos Fernandes explained that the inspection, which will be carried out next year, “may result in that it is not necessary to do anything else, as it may be necessary to reinforce the foundations”.
“Even in some cases it is not to be expected, but it can happen, [ser preciso] reinforce the structure of the building itself”, he warned.
“There had to be more attention”
The minister admitted that the families should have been contacted first and only later by letter, regretting that the process was not handled with other care.
“They were contacted by letter, I can’t deny that by chance I had been more careful to count first before sending a letter, but the process is running regularly”, he admitted, stressing that people will be compensated for not being able to stay in the houses for fence. three weeks.
Matos Fernandes also added that, should these three weeks be joined by others, due to the need for a “deeper intervention”, people are aware of this eventuality, noting that no one is “denying or hiding anything”.
“It’s obviously a nuisance for people. We apologize for the inconvenience we are causing. But two things are at stake: the public interest in the construction of this line and the safety of the buildings and those who live there”, he said.
According to Matos Fernandes, the process will only take place “after Christmas and New Year’s Eve”, with people not having to leave their homes on January 3rd. “We asked them to leave for the places they chose and we paid”, said the responsible, contributing that those who did not choose and losing that decision with Metropolitano de Lisboa, the company will take care of having hotels”.
“It’s a nuisance because people have to pack things, economic activities have to be stopped, but what I have to give these people is to have the metro at the door within two years”, he stressed.
The so-called circular line of the Metropolitano de Lisboa, which consists of the extension of the yellow and green lines with the connection between Rato and Cais do Sodré, provides for the creation of a ring surrounding the central area of the city, with the opening of two new stations: Star and Saints.
Next consigned section in January
The minister also said that he hopes to consign the next section of the work in January, considering that the works at Estrela are going on “without a hitch”.
“A quarter of the project’s work has already been completed, 300 meters of tunnel are ready for a total of 1,300 meters. The work is in progress, without any problems”, said the minister, prioritizing that it is a “complex work of heavy machinery, carried out by very qualified people”.
Matos Fernandes said he wanted “very quickly to consign the next section that will connect [esta estação] to Cais do Sodré”, hoping to do so in January.
The circular line project has been the target of several criticisms and controversies, the last of which will force the temporary vacancy of four buildings, in a total of 25 houses, in the Estrela area.
The current Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, defends a “yellow looped line” solution (Odivelas, Campo Grande, Rato, Cais do Sodré, Alameda, Campo Grande, Telheiras) to maintain direct connections (no transshipment ) from Odivelas, north of Lisbon and Telheiras to the city centre, contrary to his predecessor, Fernando Medina, who always fought, despite criticism from critics and users, for the circular line.
Matos Fernandes reiterated that the work is “essential for the mobility of Lisboners and those who come to Lisbon every day”, as it is located in the heart of the city and of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
“It has a large ring with great fluidity, with trains every three minutes and in this way it benefits not only those who use these lines, but everyone who enters Lisbon”, he said, making available that he will serve Cais do Sodré, a railway station “with more passengers”.
According to the minister, the future works at Cais do Sodré will not disturb the station’s operation – just as it is not being disturbed at the Estrela station – taking into account the existence of two atriums, with the works in the west “not has great use “according to the ruler.
In addition to the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, a visit was attended by the Secretary of State for Mobility, Eduardo Pinheiro, and the President of the Board of Directors of Metropolitano de Lisboa, Vítor Domingues dos Santos.
The circular metro line is an investment of 240.2 million euros, co-financed 137.2 million euros by the Environmental Fund and 103 million euros by the Cohesion Fund, through POSEUR – Operational Program for Sustainability and Efficiency on Use of Resources.
According to information from the Metro, at the Estrela shipyard, the work was carried out during the excavation phase of the attack well, with around 30 meters in diameter and 60 meters of cargo excavated 18 meters. It is through this well that the machinery to excavate the tunnel will enter and all the land will be removed, and it is expected that, in March 2022, the excavation of the well will be completed.