Infraestruturas de Portugal has awarded LusoLav consortium the concession contract for the Porto – Oiã high-speed rail section, the first of the three phases of Porto – Lisbon high-speed line.
LusoLav consortium is made up of the following companies: Mota-Engil, Engenharia e Construção, Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, Casais – Engenharia e Construção, Alves Ribeiro, Conduril – Engenharia, and Construções Gabriel A.S. Couto, S.A.
The 30-year contract includes the development period estimated at 5 years and the provision of maintenance services for 25 years. EUR 1.66 billion (at prices in December 2023) is the value of the contract and a maximum EUR 480 million value is added to the award value expressed at current prices to be paid by Infraestruturas de Portugal to the future concessionaire during the development period, and intended to cover the expenses inherent to projects, expropriations and works that were the subject of an application for Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 2), which was approved. In July 2024, the project secured EUR 813 million CEF financing and EUR 3 billion from the European Investment Bank. According to Infraestruturas de Portugal, more than EUR 1. 9 billion is the total investment needed for this first section.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, highlighted “taking on the risk shared with the Portuguese State”, as this is a fully national consortium. “The Portuguese companies are aligned with the country’s strategic goals”, he stressed.
The 30-year contract, awarded on October 10, 2024, covers the design, construction and maintenance of the 71 km Porto – Oiã high-speed rail section, connecting Campanhã station, in Porto, and Oiã. The project also includes the adaption of the existing Campanhã station to the high-speed standards, the construction of an underground station in Vila Nova de Gaia, in the Santo Ovídio area, as well as a new bridge over the Douro River, between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. The project also covers 34 km of connections to the Northern Line and interventions on 11 km on Northern Line, and the construction of a new electrical traction substation in the Estarreja area.
The object of the contract also includes the maintenance and availability, for a period of 25 years, of the elements mentioned above, with the exception of the Campanhã station and the surface component of the Gaia station (Santo Ovídio).
On the day when the draft State Budget for 2025 is delivered, “there is life beyond the Budget” Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said, referring to the “transversal governance context that wishes to encompass all areas where political power, and particularly the Government power must be exercised daily”.
In January 2024 Infraestruturas de Portugal launched the tender for the first section of the high-speed line which will be implemented into three public-private partnerships. The first one has been awarded, the second one covers the 120 km Oiã – Soure section for which the tender is expected to be launched in January 2026. This contract also includes a 7.3 km deviation section from the Western Line and a 8.5 km connection with the Northern Line, as well as the construction of a new Leiria station, including the transformation of its area.
The third PPP involves the section from Soure to Carregado, these two representing the second phase of the Porto – Lisbon high-speed rail project expected to be carried out in 2027 – 2032. The development of the Phase 3 between Carregado and Lisboa-Oriente station is scheduled for after 2030.
The double track line from Porto (Campanhã) station to Lisbon will be 290 km long which will deliver a journey time reduced at 1 hour and 15 minutes, while providing significant increase in railway capacity on this axis between the two destinations.
The EUR 6 billion Porto – Lisbon high-speed rail project represents a structural milestone for the transport sector in Portugal and a key project to decarbonise transport section and promote sustainable mobility. The project has been presented by the government in 2022 during an event held at Porto (Campanhã) station.
Share on:
