Metropolitan Area

SECTION I

Bodies

Article 66

Identification

1 - The metropolitan areas are those indicated in Annex II, assuming the specified designations.

2 - The intermunicipal communities are those freely formed by the municipalities comprised in the geographical areas indicated on Annex II, assuming the specified designations.

Article 67

Duties of the metropolitan areas

1 - The metropolitan areas pursue the following public purposes:

a) To participate in the production of public investment plans and programmes concerning the metropolitan area;

b) To promote the planning and management of the economic, social and environmental development strategy for the comprised territory;

c) To organize the municipal investments of metropolitan nature;

d) To participate in the management of programmes supporting regional development, namely within the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF);

e) To participate, in accordance with the law, in the delineation of services and facilities networks of metropolitan scope;

f) To play a part in public entities of metropolitan scope, particularly in the field of transports, water, energy and solid waste processing;

g) To plan the conduct of public entities of metropolitan scope.

2 - It also lies with the metropolitan areas the responsibility of organizing the operations between the municipalities and the central administration services in the following areas:

a) Public supply systems, sanitation infrastructures, wastewater and urban waste treatment;

b) Health facilities network;

c) Educational and vocational training network;

d) Regional planning, preservation of nature and natural resources;

e) Safety and civil protection;

f) Mobility and transports;

g) Public facilities network;

h) Promotion of economic and social development;

i) Cultural, sports and leisure facilities network.

3 - The Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas are also responsible for handling the duties transferred to them by the central administration, as well as for the common exercise of competence delegated by the municipalities they comprise.

4 - It is also the duty of metropolitan areas to appoint their municipal representatives to public entities or businesses of metropolitan nature. 

Article 68

Bodies

The bodies of the metropolitan area are the Metropolitan Council, the Metropolitan Executive Board and the Strategic Council for Metropolitan Development.