“It was with great pleasure that I registered the approval [of this proposal] presented by the Socialist Party, which will greatly benefit the residents of this entire territory,” which includes the municipalities of Alcácer do Sal, Grândola, Santiago do Cacém and Sines, in the district of Setúbal, and Odemira, in the district of Odemira, said today the president of CIMAL, Clarisse Campos.

In statements to Lusa news agency, the mayor stated that this decision “will benefit” not only “residents and businesses,” but also “contribute to improving territorial cohesion and boosting the development” of this territory.

“Despite being coastal, we have many regions with characteristics similar to the interior, with dispersed populations,” said Clarisse Campos, giving the example of the municipality of Alcácer do Sal, which she presides over.

For the mayor, elected by the Socialist Party (PS), this could be “a lever” and an opportunity to “attract qualified jobs and companies” to the region.

The A2 motorway connects the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, starting from the Marateca area in the municipality of Palmela, Setúbal district, with the sub-regions of Alentejo Litoral and Baixo Alentejo, and the Algarve region, for a total length of 240.8 kilometers.

Also contacted by Lusa, the spokesperson for the coordinating committee of users of the Alentejo coast, Dinis Silva, welcomed the decision to exempt tolls on this stretch of the A2 motorway, stressing that it is “a good sign for the country's development”.

“Now, let's see if this goes from paper to practice. We are waiting with some expectation for this to materialize,” said the leader, reinforcing the importance of the measure being extended to the whole country.

Taxes “are getting higher and higher, we have all the national roads degraded here on the Alentejo coast, but we view this with some expectation,” pointed out Dinis Silva, who defended “the nationalization of Brisa” and the “companies holding the motorway concessions”.

In the cases of the A6 and A2, the exemption only applies to residents and companies headquartered in certain "areas of influence" of the two highways.

The exemption, which covers the A6 section between the A2/A6/A13 junction and Caia, while the A2 section includes the A2/A6/A13 and Almodôvar, operates "through the use of an electronic device associated with the vehicle's license plate".

To determine who can benefit from the exemption, the legislation stipulates that the areas of influence comprise, in the case of the A6, "the territory covered by the NUTS III regions of Alto Alentejo and Alentejo Central" and, in the case of the A2, "the territory covered by the NUTS III regions of Baixo Alentejo and Alentejo Litoral".

The 2026 State Budget proposal was approved today in a final overall vote with votes in favor from the two parties supporting the Government, PSD and CDS-PP, and abstentions from the PS. The other parties (Chega, IL, Livre, PCP, BE, PAN and JPP) voted against.