Alcochete airport exceeds EU public investment allowance

The amount of public money the Portuguese government is prepared to plough into the new Lisbon international airport at Alcochete exceeds the maximum amount stipulated by the European Union.

EU legislation imposes a maximum public investment of 25% of the total cost of commercial airports,

However, the first estimates of the French multinational Vinci that has a 38-year concession to explore Portugal’s airports, point to an overall cost of the work of €8Bn, of which it will only be obliged to finance €3Bn. The State will have to stump up more than 60%, which is clearly illegal under European Competition Law.

“In principle, everything indicates State aid, because I assume that, in practice, the State would have to finance the project with very high amounts, which are above the limit allowed by the European Commission without prior notification and mandatory approval,” Miguel Troncoso Ferrer, a lawyer specialising in State Aid, with a permanent office in Brussels, told CNN Portugal.

But state aid goes beyond the airport infrastructure itself. The third bridge over the Tagus and attendant road and rail accesses, such as the TGV line, also count as State aid. “These public investments will have to be taken into account,” says Miguel Troncoso Ferrer.