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Repeals Decree-Law No. 188/2008 Of 23 September, Which Introduced Changes In The Bases Of The Contract Granting The Right To Exploit, In Public Service, The Port Terminal Of Alcantara

Original Language Title: Revoga o Decreto-Lei n.º 188/2008, de 23 de Setembro, que introduziu alterações nas bases do contrato de concessão do direito de exploração, em regime de serviço público, do terminal portuário de Alcântara

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DRAFT LAW NO. 63 /XI

REPEAL DL NO. 188/2008, OF September 23, WHICH INTRODUCED

CHANGES IN THE BASES OF THE CONTRACT FOR THE GRANTING OF THE RIGHT TO

OPERATION, IN PUBLIC SERVICE REGIME, OF THE TERMINAL

PORT OF ALCANTARA

Exhibition of reasons

The Dec. -Law No. 287/84, of August 23 came to authorize the Administration of the Port of Lisbon

" to be hired with company after public tender, the granting of the right of exploitation

on public service scheme of a container terminal in the port facilities

of Alcantara Sul ", being the" granting bestoed after homologation in Council of

Ministers. "

It further stipulated that diploma that the concession term is 20 years, and the

Administration upon new contract, establish a new operating regime,

for one or more periods of 5 years.

The Dec.-Law No. 298/93 of August 28, 1993 came to establish the legal regime of the

port operations, providing for the granting of public service, which to be carried out

should go through the award by public tender, under the conditions of the

programme and notebook drawn up by the port authorities and the

ministers of the sectoral tutelage in accordance with the general bases of the concessions

established by decree-law.

For its part, Dec. -Law No. 324/94, of December 30 came " laying the groundwork

general of the concessions of the public service of moving loads on the quays and

port terminals, as provided for in Dec. -Law No. 298/93 of August 28,

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determining in its Base XIII that " the contract is bestoed by a given time frame,

not more than 30 years ".

Ora the Dec.-Law No. 188/2008 of September 23, changing the bases of the contract of

granting of the right of exploitation, in public service arrangements, of the terminal

port of Alcantara, concretely the base XII, has determined that the concession

will vigorate until December 31, 2042.

The Court of Auditors states in its Report of September 27, 2007, with the para.

23 /2007-2ª Section, Audits to Port Administrations on its page 8 that " a

APL-Administration of the Port of Lisbon, leader in the general cargo movement

containerized, features disaffected capacities installed and available, for

to cope with any growths of the container movement. "

It was further alerted to the Court of Auditors in the same report for the " 30-year limit

tax by law " and for the need to comply with it, pointing out that the no

compliance with the law is in opposition " to the benefits of free competition for closing the

market for excessively long periods of time ".

And yet, to the fact that the national load-bearing capacity

additional container available to be from 10,395 thousand Tons, which, knowing

that the move in 2006 was 5,198 thousand Tons in Lisbon allows to complete

that the available national surplus capacity is more than 50%.

Add to that the APSS-Port Administration of Setúbal and Sesimbra, neighbouring

Lisbon has used only 5% of its capacity relative to the container cargo, and

that the Port of Sines has received high investments, allegedly related to

the intention to pick up container cargo for that port.

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In the meantime came the Government to ensure the " legality of the concession up to 2042 of the terminal of

containers of Alcantara à Liscont ", with the justification of" not being in cause to

conclusion of new contract " to realize an extension for 27 years, from where

results that the duration of the grant will be so of 57 years without existence of a

public contest.

The Nova Alcantara project announced last April by the Government provides for among others

works the burial of the Belt Line and the construction of a single station with

underground access, the connection of that line to the line of Cascais through a tunnel, the

interconnected to the Metro of Lisbon and works to make the TCA a deep-sea port, and still the

creation of an accustomed area and operation of barges, ensuring the Government in its

presentation that everything will be completed by 2013.

It was underlined in the parliamentary initiative the strangeness of this urgency in the extension

of a concession in absentia of the most elementary rules and conclusions of the Court of

Accounts, the injury to the area with the creation of an imtransposable wall, when the

own Chairman of the APL-Administration of the Port of Lisbon at a seminar in

Brussels cited by the media in October referred to " the biggest problem of the

Port of Lisbon is not of capacity, and yes of acessibilities " , informing that the

Agreement of the new concession with Liscont would be signed in that month.

The Parliamentary Appreciation of the PSD as well as that of the CFP, and the PSD Draft Law in the

a sense of retroacting the cessation of effects in the term of the Decree-Law No.

188/2008, of September 23, would come to be rejected by the Socialist majority with

exception of a deputy.

Thereafter, came the Court of Auditors to refer in its dated audit report

of July 21, 2009-and referring to the concession contract concluded in the meantime

by the Administration of the Port of Lisbon (APL) by extending the concession to Liscont of the

Alcantara Container Terminal (TCA)-which " does not connance or a good

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business, not a good example, for the Public Sector, in terms of good management

financial and appropriate protection of public interests ".

The Ministry's own Financial Controller mentioned that " the risk of fragilizing the

image and the financial situation of the Concepdent, for granted conditions

too generous and onerous for it, increases in the current crisis juncture. In the

unavailability of private funding for PPPs, it would be preferable to resume the

public investment in the PIDDAC scheme, than to eternalize the present conditions

onerous. ", as quoted from the said Court of Auditors report.

Official container movement statistics do not help to justify the

precipitous decision: " In 2008 the movement of containers lowered to the level of

2002.

In 2009, in the first quarter, the Terminal lost the two main lines of

navigation that served the port-the CSAV Norasia and the CMA-CMG/Evergreen. Portugal and

the world suffer an international crisis that has dragged on since 2007. The statistics

officers referring to the first 7 months of the year 2009 evidence breaks face to the

previous year.

It is therefore incomprehensible in the eyes of all the justification of the hasty extension

of the grant by the Government, based on dubious studies that bet on the increase

of expected movement. "

Considering that current all the fundamentals of criticism are maintained

invoked and that in summary the said contract does not serve the public interest, it matters

proceed to the revocation, with retroactive effectiveness, of the Decree-Law n. 188/2008, from 23 of

September.

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So, in the applicable constitutional and regimental terms, the Deputies below

signed, from the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democratic Party, present the following

draft law:

Article 1.

Abrogation standard

The Decree-Law No. 188/2008 of September 23 is repealed.

Article 2.

Entry into force on the day following that of its publication and it produces effects on the dates of

entry into force of Decree-Law No 188/2008.

Palace of S. Bento, ___ from November 2009

The Assemblymember (s) of the GP-PSD,