“Portugal has many dams”, but “they are aging dams, out of step with current safety regulations”, highlighted the head of the Alqueva Development and Infrastructure Company (EDIA).

José Pedro Salema said that there are irrigation perimeters and dams that are “80 years old” and “are not up to standards of safety and efficiency”.

“It will be imperative for the country to spend many millions on dam safety to ensure that these structures are in line with current requirements,” he stressed, at the presentation session of a study on irrigation in the country prepared by EDIA.

After the ceremony, speaking to journalists, the same official reiterated that there are "dams that were built many decades ago" in the country, at a time when "safety regulations were not as demanding as they are today".

Currently, with a structure like a dam we need to have a very high standard, namely resistance to extreme events”, he argued.