In comments to journalists at the end of the presentation in Lisbon on the study of the market, economic and financial and operationalisation of the navigability of the Tagus estuary, Ana Paula Vitorino explained the advantages to the city and the environment with the transport of more goods on the river.

"What this study tells us again is to have an effective alternative to rail and road transport at the entrances and exits of the port of Lisbon, because while one can at this time one do some transport by inland waterway, it is not regulated nor is it aligned in a way that allows it to be done regularly," she explained.

She stressed the need to "decongest Lisbon’s urban network", given that goods that arrive at the city’s port of Lisbon for local distribution are taken out mainly by lorry, with only a tiny part going by rail.

The lorries “leave for the Avenida de Ceuta, for the IC17, which is already very congested,” she pointed out. “What we want is to decongest Lisbon and all of this urban network, in addition to reducing environmental impacts."

She cited the fact that a barge carries, on average, between 80 and 100 shipping containers, so removing an equivalent number of trucks from the road, since each truck on average carries one container.

According to Vitorino, the transport of goods on the river would be as far as the logistics platform at Castanheira do Ribatejo, which should start functioning under private management at the end of 2020.

"But to do the effective transport of goods, in safe conditions … it is necessary to do the dredging to deepen the river so the barges can sail," the minister stressed.

At present, she said, while it is possible for barges to go as far as Castanheira do Ribatejo, this is only possible when the tides permit.