Latest news and stories about public infrastructure in infrastructure in Portugal for expats and residents.
Municipalities affected by storms earlier this year can now apply for the Municipal Emergency Fund (Fundo de Emergência Municipal or FEM) to cover up to 60% of infrastructure repair costs. Applications remain open until November 30 for local authorities in areas where a state of calamity was declared. Some councils have previously resorted to bank loans to manage the damage while awaiting this state support.
The Ministry of Justice (Ministério da Justiça or MJ) has announced a 42-million-euro investment to modernize prisons and educational centers through the Justice Modernization Fund (Fundo de Modernização da Justiça or FMJ). This initiative, which runs until 2029, includes funding to facilitate the closure of the Lisbon Prison (Estabelecimento Prisional de Lisboa or EPL).
Net charges for public-private partnerships rose by 36 million euros compared to the figure forecast for 2025, bringing the total state expenditure to 1124.2 million euros.
Six weeks after Storm Kristin, students in Vieira de Leiria continue to face significant educational disruptions, with classes held in makeshift locations including containers and a former mortuary chapel due to ongoing infrastructure repairs.
Municipalities affected by storms can now apply for the Municipal Emergency Fund (FEM) to cover up to 60% of the costs for repairing and rebuilding public infrastructure. The Ministry of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, led by Castro Almeida, announced that applications are open until November 30th for regions where a state of calamity was declared. While the government has already provided an initial advance of 75 million euros to 84 municipalities, many local authorities report that these funds are insufficient to cover the total damages, forcing them to use their own capital or take out bank loans to address critical infrastructure repairs.
The penultimate reprogramming of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) introduced the concept of “substantial completion” to be applied to certain projects, such as schools and health centres. These are works that will not be fully finished by 31 August, but which show a very high degree of execution, allowing the European Commission to fund them, although...
Gonçalo Lage (PSD) states that the value presented allows room for optimisations. Meanwhile, Frederico Francisco (PS) reiterates that the decisive phase is yet to come, as ANA must define how it will finance the construction.
How did reservoirs reach 10% capacity without any action being taken? There are nine municipalities with nine systems, and a quarter of the water is lost before reaching the tap. At the current rate of pipeline rehabilitation, it would take over 330 years to renew Almada's network. If growth pays property taxes and fees, part of the revenue must go towards infrastructure. This crisis was not a consequence of climate change, but water will become a scarcer and more disputed resource. Portugal has never planned. The margin for error is gone.
The tender covers 100 km of road and has a 720-day deadline. Mayors of Ansião and Pombal applaud the step but warn: the real commitment will be measured when there are “machines on the ground”.
Faced with vague responses and extended deadlines from CP regarding the rehabilitation of railway buildings, the Figueira da Foz City Council proposes to recover and take control of that heritage for 20 years.
The 33.7 million euro municipal contract is the largest in the last 25 years. The project by Souto de Moura will expand and modernise the library and “open up space to the city”. Until then, its absence is being mitigated.
Infraestruturas de Portugal announced that one of the board members elected at the general meeting submitted a declaration of non-acceptance. Alberto Aroso cited a personal reason.
Isaltino Morais, mayor of Oeiras, expresses his frustration with the national infrastructure agency by threatening to bring a goat to graze on the Marginal road.
They once employed 300 people, but today they are just walls that could collapse at any moment. The building belongs to CP, which says it wants to restore the space, while the City Council says it has been waiting for answers from the company for three years.
Portugal needed a plan like the PTRR, not just because of the storms in January and February, but because the country has accumulated structural weaknesses in water, energy, communications, forestry, civil protection, critical infrastructure, and the State's response capacity over decades of underinvestment and a growing erosion of public capital, as detailed in this...
3.2 million euros have already been secured to fund 28 of the 73 projects available on the fundraising platform of the 'Reconstruction of the Country's Central Region' Mission Structure, aimed at rebuilding infrastructure devastated by the series of storms that hit the country. These include public infrastructure, sports and cultural facilities, and fire stations.
The Court of Auditors (which warned us), the former Secretary of State for Health (who has explanations to give), and AHRESP (which dismisses the numbers) are the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
The 3.6 million euro cost of the intervention includes the conversion and expansion works of a warehouse, exterior landscaping, and furniture.
Almost a year after announcing a 12.7 million euro investment in a new multi-purpose pavilion, the municipality of Barcelos has approved the public tender for the design and construction contract during an executive meeting. The future 'Barcelos Arena' multi-purpose facility has a 24-month construction timeline.
Throughout the week, António José Seguro will travel through the central region of the country to show what has and has not been done to resolve the problems caused by the train of storms that destroyed homes, businesses, and infrastructure. Rita Dinis calls this Open Presidency an “active surveillance,” and Paulo Baldaia spoke with the Expresso reporter accompanying the Head of State. This Tuesday, the Prime Minister will go to Belém for the usual Tuesday meeting with the President.
The local authority continues to report “critical situations” regarding the road surface. It states that these may affect “safety standards” and is calling for a “comprehensive corrective intervention”.
The President of the Republic, António José Seguro, stopped this Monday, April 6, to speak with about fifty people demanding the reopening of a section of the N2 national road in Pedrógão Pequeno, promising to raise the matter at his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. The President, who is beginning his first 'Open Presidency' tour to assess the impact of recent storms, was met by citizens holding a banner stating that the road is vital for their survival. The tour, which runs until April 10, covers four districts affected by floods and infrastructure damage, aiming to witness the impact of the severe weather firsthand and ensure the state's presence in vulnerable areas.
Road closures, landslides, and flooding: municipalities in the Coimbra region, lacking the financial capacity to repair the damage, intend to present the situation to António José Seguro during the open presidency.
A section of the EN10-4 in Setúbal, which had been closed for a month and a half, has returned to circulation. In Arrábida, other sections remain closed, with costs amounting to “many hundreds of thousands of euros.”
The President of the Republic, António José Seguro, visited Alcácer do Sal this morning to check on-site the status of the recovery works following the bad weather that hit the municipality in February.
The Central region has already done its homework and identified the various areas that “are on the verge of having to” withdraw projects from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) funding, because they will not be ready in time: schools, health centres, housing, business location areas and social equipment from private social solidarity institutions (IPSS), it was revealed...
Home News Construction of new Lisbon Airport delayed Construction of new Lisbon Airport delayed The Luís de Camões Airport was supposed to be completed in 2034, but the Government says the completion date has been pushed back to 2037. By Bruno G.
The government explains that it is still awaiting the delivery of the designs from Mota Engil, which had to be updated to include an anti-seismic system.
