Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved signing of two agreements with Portugal
Portugal and Spain are set to formalise agreements for the construction of two international bridges, including the long-awaited Alcoutim-Sanlúcar de Guadiana bridge, during the upcoming Iberian Summit.
Spain’s Council of Ministers approved the signing of two agreements with Portugal on Tuesday, October 15, for the construction of these bridges – one over the Guadiana River between Alcoutim (Algarve, Portugal) and Sanlúcar de Guadiana (Spain), and another across the Sever River, connecting Nisa (Alentejo, Portugal) and Cedillo (Spain).
Both agreements will be signed at the 35th Iberian Summit, scheduled for October 23 in Faro, Portugal.
These projects have been long-discussed in previous summits and are now officially moving forward, as highlighted in a statement from the Spanish government. The agreements reflect the spirit of “friendly cooperation” between the two nations and seek to improve the movement of people and vehicles across the borders, particularly in areas that are currently underserved by existing infrastructure, the Spanish Council of Ministers says.
The construction of both bridges was first committed to during a summit held in Viana do Castelo in November 2022, with a targeted completion date by 2025. Portugal has allocated €9 million in European Recovery and Resilience funds (PRR) for each bridge, and construction tenders for both projects have already been launched by Portuguese authorities.
The Alcoutim-Sanlúcar bridge will unite two towns that currently only have a boat service connecting them across the Guadiana River. The new road connection will significantly shorten the journey by 70 kilometres. Similarly, the Sever River bridge will link Nisa in Portugal’s Alentejo region with Cedillo in Spain’s Extremadura, reducing travel distance by 85 kilometres.
The 35th Iberian Summit, hosted at the Palácio Fialho in Faro, will bring together 13 ministers from each country, alongside the two heads of government, Portugal’s Luís Montenegro and Spain’s Pedro Sánchez. The central theme of the summit will be water resource management, but further developments on the cross-border bridges are also expected.
