Land in Gaia? Melo laments “tom, adjectives and considerations” of Menezes

O defense minister today lamented “immense” the “tom”, the “adjectives” and the “considerations” made by the mayor of Gaia, who accused him of lying about a process concerning military terrain that the municipality wants for housing.

“ I'm so sorry about yesterday. I regret the tone, I regret the adjectives, I regret the personal and even partisan considerations, if we bear in mind that the CDS is a party that loyally sided with Dr. Filipe Menezes to support him on that journey that led him to the presidency.”Nuno Melo, also president of the CDS-PP, said today to journalists in Porto.

Sided by the mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte – who did not want to make statements about the denial, by the organization of the camp for housing, of contacts with the municipality – Nuno Melo said he had “too much pity” of Menezes’ statements, refusing to make any “type of personal consideration”, saying he has “deep esteem” by the mayor of Gaia.

On Friday night, in SIC News, Luís Filipe Menezes accused Nuno Melo of lying, saying that it was “completely false” that he was summoned to a meeting on Thursday, also saying that the minister refused to attend him.

In question is a military ground in Serra do Pilar that the House wants to use for housing, and on Thursday Menezes said he was “waiting a year ago, with the entrepreneurs with the money in hand, with the international funds they want to finance, without the House entering penniless, because of the Minister”.

Today, Nuno Melo maintained the version presented on Friday by official source of the ministry, reaffirming that in 2002 “the army handed over to the House of Gaia some of the best land that had in Serra do Pilar in a protocol that had counterparts”, which were “works in three barracks and the valorization of a land through its constructive capacity”, but “to this day this protocol has not been fulfilled” and “no work has been done”.

According to the minister, “delivering this land to the House of Gaia today, then meant that the Army would give everything and have no return,” insisting that it is linked to the Military Infrastructure Law, which “forces that if a field of the Armed Forces leaves (...), it must be profitable, it cannot be given”.

“Any entity that wants to benefit from buildings that are within the perimeter of the Armed Forces, through the Military Infrastructures Act, has to pay,” and after an assessment by the public company Estamo, “the terms on which this rent is made are established”, the payment “can be made directly by the entity that wants to keep the land”.

Also flanked by the Secretary of State Álvaro Castelo Branco, he said that “he gave instructions to his chief of staff to contact, and contacted, the chief of staff of Dr. Luís Filipe Menezes, for a meeting to be held on Thursday.”.

“The conversation happened and the meeting was confirmed, and then it was not confirmed, despite several insistences, several phone calls, but fact is that no one showed up at the meeting, nor was any justification given for it,” Nuno Melo said, who assured that it is “no disregard” to meet with the Secretary of State, who has the “expressed competence” regarding infrastructure.

The minister also suggested that as for housing, there are “a lot of young military personnel in need of a home” and “the municipality can build housing, multiple dwellings, 3,000, 4,000, as it pleases, giving part to the armed forces to make themselves available to the young military.”.

“The appeal that I make is that, rather than inventive through the media, that help little to solve the problems, someone from the House of Gaia, its president, someone for himself mandated, gather wherever he wants” and “it doesn’t have to be in Lisbon”, saying the minister who even likes “much more” to meet in Porto.