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Portugal inaugurates highway tunnel amid protests

Xinhua, May 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Portugal's longest highway tunnel Tunel do Marao, which is located in the north of the country, was inaugurated on Saturday.

The highway tunnel Tunel de Marao, of around 5.6 km, took seven years to build and is on the Marao highway which connects Amarante, 360 km north of capital Lisbon, to Vila Real, another city in northern Portugal.

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa attended the inauguration ceremony and pointed out the tunnel would "open up opportunities" for economic development in the northern region of Tras-os-Montes, while praising the two previous governments for having contributed to the project.

Former Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who proposed the project, was also present at the event.

The inauguration follows recent protests across the country regarding the tolls, which will be between 1.95 euros(2.22 U.S. dollars) and 4.90 euros depending on vehicles.

The Left Bloc party has suggested that tolls on the A4, A24 and A25 be abolished, saying these regions are being "excluded" due to the tolls.

The construction of Tunel de Marao, which is the biggest public project in the past five years, was suspended several times in the past due to lack of funding.

The highway cost the country around 400 million euros, of which 89 million euros were reimbursed by community funds. Endit