Slope Stabilization Project on VE2 Expressway Exempt from Environmental Impact Assessment

The Regional Secretariats for Tourism, Environment and Culture and for Equipment and Infrastructure have issued a Joint Order No. 73/2026 granting a full exemption from the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure for an urgent road network intervention project.

The project in question is the "Slope Stabilization and Protection Project for VE2 between the Ladeira da Vinha and João Delgado Tunnels - Section between km 8+600 and 8+800", located in the parish of Seixal, municipality of Porto Moniz. The intervention aims to construct a reinforced concrete structure to protect the road from rockfalls and to stabilize the coastal slope.

Basis for the Exemption

The exemption was granted based on exceptional circumstances of urgency and public safety. The justification presented by the Regional Roads Directorate, as the proponent, argued that:

• Inaction would compromise road safety, the protection of people and property, and the safeguarding of human life, due to recent rockfalls that have already caused personal injury.
• There were technical, contractual, and institutional circumstances that prevented the development of the project earlier.
• The urgency of the intervention, for reasons of public safety, is incompatible with the long timeframes inherent in the normal EIA procedure.

The Regional Directorate for Environment and Sea, as the EIA Authority, considered these requirements to be met.

Conditions and Mitigation Measures

The exemption is conditional on the full compliance with an extensive set of environmental impact mitigation measures, contained in the annex to the order. These measures cover areas such as:

• Air Quality: Dust control, road cleaning, and equipment maintenance.
• Noise: Restrictions on noisy work, selection of quiet equipment, and information to the public.
• Waste Management: Rigorous application of the waste management hierarchy, prevention, reuse, and routing to licensed operators.
• Ecological Systems: Recommendations for breakwater structures that favor marine life, control of invasive plants, and use of indigenous species in the landscape integration project.
• Infrastructure: Guaranteeing the integrity of the electrical infrastructure of EEM - Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira, S.A.

The order comes into force the day after its publication.