The Porto Municipal Assembly, meeting on Monday night, approved by a majority the transformation of the Association of Municipalities Lipor, waste manager for eight municipalities, into a local company of an intermunicipal nature and approved the new statutes.
The proposal, which had already been approved by the municipal executive, only received a vote against from the two elected members of the CDU, as they considered the risk of “future alienation of municipal positions and possible entry of private interests” to have not been eliminated”, explained deputy Ana Magalhães.
Questioned by Raúl Almeida, elected by the independent movement “Filipe Araújo: Fazer à Porto”, about the fact that Lipor has been without a Board of Directors for several months, the president of the municipality clarified that the association is “going through a transition phase essentially because of this process” which already began “a long time ago” and which, last summer, only needed approval from the municipalities of Porto and Vila do Conde.
Pedro Duarte also informed that, despite having requested that there be a transitional Board of Directors, this was not possible, and revealed that he formalized “a few days ago” a request to the presidency of the Intermunicipal Assembly to convene an extraordinary assembly to resolve this “situation of impasse”.
In the proposal, to which Lusa had access, it can be read that the new company will have a share capital of 25 million euros, through conversion of existing assets, without cash input.
This approval follows the deliberation of Lipor’s Board of Directors, already in December 2024, to propose this change, approved at an intermunicipal assembly in January 2025, having been the subject of technical, feasibility and legal analysis studies.
The document, signed by vice-president Catarina Araújo, states that the change makes it possible to face the “great difficulties” that the intermunicipal association faces, as well as the “current legal model”, which is seen as “unable to ensure adequate levels of effectiveness and efficiency in management”.
On the other hand, the objective is that the new local inter-municipal company can evolve “from a ‘mere’ waste manager to an organization oriented towards the production of products”.
The framework laws for associations of municipalities provide that “loans taken out by them are relevant to the limits of the debt capacity of associated municipalities”, a situation also reflected in Lipor’s current statutes.
The transformation of associations into local companies is provided for in law 69/2015, and, there, the loans taken out by the society count towards the limits of the local authorities in a way “proportional to the participation, direct or indirect, of the municipality in its share capital” – Porto proposes 29.15% of the share capital of the ‘new’ Lipor.
Among the reasons cited by Catarina Araújo, who is responsible for Environment and Sustainability, is the need to respond to the Strategic Plan for Urban Waste for mainland Portugal (PERSU2030), which implies “a substantial increase in investment” in new equipment and facilities.
In the feasibility study, signed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the change is seen as “the most advantageous choice, providing a higher net present value” and a more appropriate response to the needs of the sector and the goals established by PERSU2030.
Lipor, created in 1982, is made up of the municipalities of Porto, Maia, Matosinhos, Gondomar, Póvoa de Varzim, Vila do Conde, Espinho and Valongo, covering around 10% of the Portuguese population.
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