Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport: "We must do on a national scale what Porto did on a regional scale"

The Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro commemorated this morning the Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto’s 80th anniversary, noting the strategic role played by this infrastructure in the north part of the country’s economic development and linking Portugal to international markets.

During his speech, Luís Montenegro stressed that developing major infrastructures requires cooperation between institutions and the regions, claiming that "we must do on a national scale what Porto and the northern people did on a regional scale".

The Prime Minister recalled that building the airport required an understanding between various regions and institutions with the collective interest prevailing over local rivalries. This decision reflected "the northern peoples’ feistiness and vision" and showed that cooperation between regions enables projects that are structural for the country.

Driver for the northern economy

Francisco Sá Carneiro keeps abreast of the northern region’s economic power, supporting industrial activity, growth in exports, tourism, and attracting investment.

Luís Montenegro stressed that the region’s economic vibrancy is associated with a strong industrial and corporate base, noting the importance of having "a vibrant and strong airport infrastructure".

With over 17 million passengers per year, the airport strengthens the north’s connection to international markets and is a competitiveness factor for the companies in the region.

In prior phases of the airport’s enlargement, the investment was criticised by some as being excessive and even described as a "white elephant". The infrastructure’s evolution showed the opposite, however. It is now confirmed it is "an opportunity, or rather THE opportunity" "to become even more competitive, attractive and to create more wealth".

Investment to continue to grow

The airport’s development still benefits from new investments. Among the projects set, we have the runway expansion, with a 50-million-euro investment at stake and setting up an aeronautical maintenance and engineering hub.

These initiavies are likely to drive activities associated with the aeronautical sector. The Prime Minister indicated that "today, Portugal is a destination much sought out for engine maintenance work", offering as example Lufthansa Technik’s investment in Santa Maria da Feira.

More mobility and better connections

The airport’s valorisation is part of a wider mobility strategy to boost accessibility. Among the investments, we note Porto metro, improving roads in the region and the future highspeed rail.

Luís Montenegro reaffirmed the goal of completing the Lisbon–Porto–Vigo highspeed rail connection, underlining that this infrastructure will boost the airport’s attractiveness and expand its sphere of influence in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

National strategy for airports

The Government is boosting the national airport system, combining the construction of the new Lisbon international airport with the enhancement of the remaining infrastructure.

Luís Montenegro claimed that "we want to build the new Lisbon airport, but we want to enhance Francisco Sá Carneiro airport. We want to enhance Faro airport; we want to enhance the airports in the autonomous regions".

The Prime Minister also noted the privatisation process of part of TAP’s share capital, stressing that "there will be no privatisation unless we guarantee that our airports, including naturally Francisco Sá Carneiro airport have the potential in terms of the airline’s activity that they deserve".

Investment at the scale of ambition

The Head of Government also noted the importance of guaranteeing continuous investment in the airport infrastructure.

Luís Montenegro stated that "VINCI has its most profitable operation worldwide here in Portugal", adding that "it is possible to do more and to do it faster" when it comes to developing airport infrastructure.

The aim, he concluded, is to ensure that the investments follow the sector’s growth and boost the Portuguese economy’s competitiveness and Portugal’s connection to the world.