Portugal puts its first high-speed line out to tender. Portugal’s interim government approved the launch of an international tender for the construction and operation of the first section of a high-speed railway between Lisbon and Porto last week, in time for the long-delayed project to become eligible for EU funds.
The European Commission has warned in the past that the tender must be approved this month, otherwise the more than EUR5.5 billion ( USD6 billion) project will not receive EUR729 million from the Connecting Europe Facility, according to Reuters. The government expects the line, which should be fully operational after 2030, to cut the 300km journey between the capital and Portugal’s second-largest city to just 75 minutes from more than three hours.
Portugal tenders its first high-speed line
The railway will be built under a public-private partnership, where private companies will have up to five years to build it and will have a concession to operate it for 25 years. The first phase, consisting of two sections covering more than 120 km at an estimated cost of EUR 3.55 billion, should be completed in 2028. The government said it had approved the tender for the first 70 km section, between Porto and Aveiro.
The second phase – about 120 km between Coimbra and Carregado – is expected to cost EUR 1.9 billion, but the cost of the final phase to Lisbon is not yet known.
Portugal sees rail travel as a way to reduce motorway and air traffic, helping it become carbon neutral by 2045.
The environmental agency APA approved the section between Porto and Coimbra last year, but the project is facing growing opposition from several municipalities and environmentalists.
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