Government wants faster construction reviews and permits

The Government wants to “reduce procedures” to shorten the deadlines for reviewing Municipal Master Plans (PDM) and ensure “less delay in granting construction permits”, the Minister for Territorial Cohesion revealed this Tuesday.

"We'll have to make significant changes to these laws. The response time must be as stipulated by law. Currently, the average review period for the Master Plan is over five years. We'll take a more aggressive stance in terms of land use planning, including regarding construction permits," said Manuel Castro Almeida, also Minister of Economy, during a procedural hearing at the State Reform and Local Government Committee of the Assembly of the Republic, in Lisbon.

The governor said that, regarding the review of the PDM , “the solution is not to increase the number of technicians, but to reduce procedures.”

A similar review is being prepared “to ensure shorter delays in granting construction permits,” he said.

“We’re going to have to dig into a lot of people’s backyards to solve this problem,” he stressed.

Castro Almeida noted that the PDM problem “is under the Government’s watchful eye.”

"Working on this will be a priority. I have a meeting with the chairs of the Coordination and Development Committees on Thursday, and that could help define a timetable," he said, responding to questions about deadlines from IL representative Carlos Guimarães Pinto.

The minister said he had a “very ambitious” goal, but that it would “take time.”

"If we reach the end of the legislative term meeting legal deadlines, it would be a remarkable result. Failing to meet these deadlines by the end of the legislative term would be halfway to achieving a goal. But we will definitely make progress," he assured.

The problem, he indicated, “has been accumulating over the years” and “we need to start reversing the cycle.”

“We need to have increasingly shorter deadlines to reach a normal situation,” he explained.

PS MP Jorge Botelho noted that “the chambers’ powers are limited in many matters and the Government is to blame.”

"Regarding simplification, we agree. The councils and mayors are not to blame. If the law is clear and objective, the mayor can act because he wants the region to develop," he stated.

Responding to the deputy, the minister assured that the Government "is committed to ensuring that State institutions issue their opinions within the deadlines," warning that the national executive "does not license works."

Chega MP Bruno Nunes expressed concern about the PDM, noting that in the process “there are more chiefs than Indians.”

"I only see the possibility of harmonizing positions on the right and eliminating the entropies that the PS has been creating," he said.

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