Socialist Party Calls for Urgent Hearing on Alcochete Firing Range Relocation
Portugal's firing range relocation sparks political and safety concerns in Alter do Chão
The Socialist Party (PS) has submitted a request in Parliament for an urgent hearing with multiple government and local authorities regarding the transfer of the Alcochete Firing Range to Alter do Chão, citing the government's "lack of responses" on the matter.
In their petition to the chair of the National Defense Committee, Socialist lawmakers emphasized that "given the absence of answers to previously raised questions and considering the significant territorial, environmental, socioeconomic, and land-use planning impacts of this decision, it is essential to hear from a broad range of entities with direct expertise or legitimate interest in the matter."
According to the Socialists, the hearings would enable the Assembly of the Republic "to obtain comprehensive, diverse, and technically sound information, ensuring rigorous scrutiny of a decision with major strategic and territorial implications."
On March 11, Defense Minister Nuno Melo announced that Alter do Chão, in the Portalegre district, had been selected to host the Portuguese Air Force's firing range, currently located in Alcochete, Setúbal district.
When unveiling the new location, the minister stressed that the choice was a "crucial step toward demilitarizing the land" where Lisbon's new Luís de Camões Airport will be built.
At the time, the exact site of the firing range within Alter do Chão municipality—reportedly spanning roughly 7,500 hectares—was not disclosed.
Among the entities the PS has requested for urgent hearings are the mayors of Alter do Chão, Fronteira, Monforte, Portalegre, Ponte de Sôr, and Crato, as well as the defense minister and the chief of staff of the Air Force.
The Socialists also seek testimony from the director-general of Armaments and National Defense Assets, the CEO of NAV Portugal (Airports and Air Navigation), the heads of REN (National Energy Networks), the Portuguese Environment Agency, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, and the Alentejo Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR).
Additionally, Socialist lawmakers submitted a parliamentary question today to Defense Minister Nuno Melo and Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho regarding the "potential overlap between the planned firing range area and the Monforte-Leiria gas pipeline route."
"Recently released information suggests the area in question may coincide, either fully or partially," the document states.
Highlighting the "nature of activities conducted at a firing range" and the "risks posed by proximity to such energy infrastructure," the Socialists asked whether the ministers had prior knowledge of the pipeline's placement.
They further inquired whether the government acknowledges the possibility of a full or partial overlap and, if so, whether it considers the installation of a firing range in an area crossed by a gas pipeline "technically and legally feasible while fully ensuring existing safety conditions."
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
