This Friday, in Crato, the financing contracts, concession and the consignment notices for the start of the construction of the Pisão Dam, a project promoted by the Intermunicipal Community of Alto Alentejo (CIMAA), were signed. The ceremony took place at the Town Hall and was attended by the Ministers of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, and the Deputy Minister and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida.
With these documents, the necessary steps are formalized for the start of the works of the primary infrastructures of the Crato Multipurpose Hydraulic Development Enterprise. The financing contract, now signed between CIMAA and the Recover Portugal Mission Structure, changes the source of funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) to the State Budget, in an amount of 222.2 million euros, plus VAT, with completion scheduled for 2027.
The concession contract with the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the consignment notice with the consortium FCC Construcción, S.A. and Alberto Couto Alves, S.A., responsible for the execution of the work, were also signed.
Despite the administrative progress of the project, environmental non-governmental organizations, namely the Spatial Planning and Environment Study Group (GEOTA), of the C7 Coalition, announced their intention to move forward with an injunction to stop the construction. The entities claim that the work could cause irreversible environmental damage in the area.
The project is also involved in legal litigation. At the beginning of the year, the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Castelo Branco annulled the Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) integrated in the project’s Single Environmental Title, following an action by the C7 Coalition. The Portuguese Environment Agency appealed the decision, and the case was referred to the South Central Administrative Court.
The members of the Government, CIMAA and the consortium responsible for the work declined to comment on the criticism of environmental organizations or to indicate a concrete date for the effective start of the work.
