Leixões Port in Portugal Applies for Heavy Truck Transit Exemption

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 23, the Port Community of Leixões in Portugal proposed that the government grant an exemption from the VCI inner ring road transit ban for heavy trucks traveling to and from the Port of Leixões. Since September 15, heavy trucks have been prohibited from entering the VCI-related sections connecting Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, which total more than 20 kilometers, between 7:00 and 21:00 on weekdays. The restricted sections involve the A1/IC1, A20/IC23, A28/IC1, and A44/IC23.

Current policy already allows heavy trucks carrying out loading and unloading tasks within the municipal areas of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia to apply for exceptional transit. Transport companies must complete authorization registration in advance on the vehicle registration platforms provided by the two municipal governments. Marcília Montenegro, President of the Port Community of Leixões, proposed extending the same type of exemption to freight vehicles originating from or destined for the Port of Leixões.

Restricted vehicles are currently mainly diverted to the CREP, Porto's outer ring road, namely the A41 motorway. Yilport estimates that the detour adds more than 31 kilometers per one-way trip; Portocargo estimates that the total mileage for transport tasks to and from the Port of Leixões may increase by 62 to 64 kilometers. For short-distance transport, a case provided by Portocargo shows that a shipment originally costing about 150 euros may increase in cost by 80 to 85 euros after rerouting.

Altri currently has an average of about 70 trucks per day traveling between the Port of Leixões and Figueira da Foz. Company representative Susana Pinho stated that if the alternative route continues to be used over the long term, annual additional logistics costs are expected to be approximately 1.5 million to 2 million euros. Altri is reassessing the arrangements for using the Port of Leixões in its logistics system.

The Port of Leixões authority is concurrently advancing the expansion of container facilities in the port area. APDL disclosed that the future northern container terminal will be expanded seaward, and the existing container operation layout in the port area will be adjusted; another project of approximately 100 million euros is intended to increase container handling capacity.