Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) has already secured 813 million euros for the first phase of the high-speed project between Lisbon and Porto within the scope of the Connecting Europe Mechanism (CEF), but will submit a new application in January for additional funds.
The information was released this Thursday in the award of the concession for the section between Porto and Oiã to the LusoLav consortium, led by Mota-Engil and which also includes Teixeira Duarte, Casais, Alves Ribeiro, Conduril and Gabriel AS Couto.
This award is the result of the competition launched by IP in January this year and which for the Ministry of Infrastructure is “a decisive project for the public passenger transport service ecosystem and represents a structuring factor for the territory”.
In a statement released this Thursday, Miguel Pinto Luz’s office also highlights the need to “restructure the main North-South axis of the national railway network, to which almost all other lines are connected”, remembering that “currently this axis is ensured by the Northern line, even though it faces serious congestion problems, which impede growth and competitiveness”.
“It is therefore decisive to invest, with a view to improving rail access to international corridors and the future Lisbon Airport, in the near future“, he also says.
The concession contract for the first of three phases of the new Porto-Lisbon connection includes the conception, design and construction of 71 kilometers of a new high-speed line between Campanhã Station and Oiã, the adaptation of the current Campanhã Station to the needs of high speed, a new underground station in Vila Nova de Gaia, in the Santo Ovídio area, a new bridge over the Douro river, connections to the Northern Line, near Canelas and 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 all those elements, with the exception of the Campanhã Station and the surface component of the Gaia Station, highlights IP in a released note.
The contract has a total term of 30 years, which includes a development period estimated at 5 years, and an infrastructure provision period of 25 years, and was awarded for a value of 1.66 billion euros.
A maximum value of 480 million is added to the award amount, to be paid by IP 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 the application for the CEF 2 European funds programwhich has already been approved.
The first phase of the project, which includes the Porto-Oiã and Oiã-Soure sections, has also already pre-approved financing of 3 billion euros from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The decision to award the first section was taken this Thursday, The contract is scheduled to come into force in July next year.
Before the concession contract takes effect, steps must still be taken, such as the presentation of qualification documents and contracts, including financing ones, or submission to prior inspection by the Court of Auditors.
The tender for the second section, between Oiã and Soure, is currently underway, with proposals expected to be delivered by January 6th of next year, so that the contract comes into force at the beginning of 2026.
The launch of the tender for the second phase of the project, which involves the Soure-Carregado section, is also scheduled for that date.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
