LUSA 02/04/2025

Lusa - Business News - Portugal: Recovery, resilience plan rejig crucial for completion - task force

Lisbon, Feb. 3, 2025 (Lusa) - The Recover Portugal task force argued that reprogramming of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), delivered to Brussels on Saturday, is a "crucial action" to ensure the implementation of reforms and investments.

"The reprogramming of the PRR is a crucial action to ensure the efficient implementation of the reforms and investments needed to build a more resilient, sustainable and digital country," the task force responsible for monitoring the plan said in a newsletter.

As it pointed out, the plan has already begun to show results on the ground, with thousands of investments under implementation or completed.

Even so, it noted that there is still a long way to go.

So far, 147 of the 463 milestones and targets agreed with the European Commission have been met, while 30 are in the evaluation phase and 13 are in the submission process.

"To ensure that the rest are achieved efficiently, a reprogramming exercise has been carried out," it emphasised.

The Recover Portugal task force also detailed that this reprogramming maintains the plan's total value at €22.216 billion, but adjusted measures that were not feasible within the defined timetable.

In this sense, the ambitions of some investments have been reduced and projects have been removed, such as the water catchment on the River Guadiana at Pomarão, the desalination plant, the Crato multi-purpose hydroelectric scheme and the Odivelas-Loures light rail link.

Sustainable mobility is the component that will see the biggest adjustment with this reprogramming. In total, almost €416 million will no longer be earmarked for this area, according to a presentation the government made to the parliament last week, to which Lusa had access.

Housing also stands out, with a reduction of more than €391 million.

Alongside water management and housing, there were decreases in components such as companies 4.0 (-€39 million), qualifications and skills (-€21.5 million) and the digital school (-€100,000).

The PRR's figures, which with this reprogramming are no longer allocated to projects that will be financed by alternative sources, namely through the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Portugal 2030 programme or the state budget, will be allocated to areas such as health amd artificial intelligence.

For example, two investments have been added to component C05 (Capitalisation and Business Innovation) - Research Units and National Scientific Infrastructures and Business Innovation.

Investment in the Alqueva Photovoltaic Park was added to component C09 (Water Management), while component C10 (Sea) included the Plan to Strengthen Ice Production Capacity.

Component C12 (Sustainable Bioeconomy) now includes investment in Recycling and Enhancement of Waste.

The number of milestones and targets has fallen from 463 to 450.

The proposal that Portugal submitted on Saturday will be evaluated and the European Commission should give its opinion within two months.

The PRR, the EU's so-called bazooka funding, which runs until 2026, aims to implement a series of reforms and investments with a view to restoring economic growth.

As well as repairing the damage caused by Covid-19, the plan aims to support investment and create jobs.

The last reprogramming of the PRR was approved in September 2023.

 

PE/AYLS // AYLS

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