In an order signed on 10 February, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, determined the “launch of the tender procedure for the construction and operation of the Girabolhos Multipurpose Project (EFMG)”, which will be implemented in the Mondego River basin.

The order “establishes the advancement of the tender for the project and tasks the APA with promoting its launch by the end of March,” the statement indicates.

The Government also establishes that, before launching the public tender for the construction of the dam, the APA (Portuguese Environment Agency) must coordinate with the municipalities involved and with "other competent administrative entities," namely in the areas of water supply, energy, civil protection, economy, agriculture, land use planning, nature conservation, and biodiversity.

The objective is to ensure "the proper consideration and safeguarding of the public interests at stake."

According to the Government, the Girabolhos Multipurpose Project is "a structuring project for the integrated and sustainable management of water resources, with objectives of flood control and mitigation, reinforcement of the public water supply, production of electricity from renewable sources, increased water resilience, and territorial enhancement of the interior."

"This decision is particularly relevant in the current context of floods in the Mondego basin, which have once again highlighted the need to strengthen flow regulation and the protection of populations, economic activities, and infrastructure," it stressed.

Quoted in the statement, the Minister of Environment and Energy said that the Girabolhos dam aims to “strengthen the country’s water security, protect the populations of the Mondego Valley and increase the national capacity for renewable energy production.”

“We are taking a firm step in implementing a more integrated, more resilient and better prepared water management policy to deal with extreme weather events, such as those the country has faced in recent weeks,” she added.

The Girabolhos dam spans the municipalities of Seia and Fornos de Algodres, in the Guarda district, and Nelas and Mangualde, in the Viseu district.

It was one of 10 new projects in the National Program for High Potential Hydroelectric Dams, launched by the José Sócrates government, but its construction was cancelled in April 2016, when it had already been granted to Endesa.