Lisbon Metro's Struggling Expansion: Only €500,000 Spent of €66 Million Allocated

Investment Shortfalls in Lisbon Metro

The Lisbon Metro's investment last year fell significantly short of expectations, achieving only a 42.8% execution rate. Out of a projected €210 million, only €90.1 million was invested. Alarmingly, the use of PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) funds for the expansion projects was almost negligible, with just €0.5 million spent compared to the €66.2 million budgeted, translating to less than 1% execution.

Reasons for Underperformance

The company cites several factors for this underperformance, including:

• Delays in projects and contracting
• Litigation with competitors affecting tenders and awards
• Complex expropriation processes

These issues have resulted in the Red Line extension and the Light Rail Surface Loures/Odivelas (Purple Line) being flagged as critical projects, with execution rates of less than 1%.

Government's Response

The July report from the monitoring committee highlights the impossibility of meeting deadlines for the Red Line, calling for urgent intervention to find solutions. For the Purple Line, no tenders have even been launched yet, though there is some optimism due to its surface nature.

Proposed Reprogramming by Environmentalists

In light of these delays, the environmental association Zero has proposed immediate reprogramming of funds and a phased approach to the Metro expansion. They suggest:

• First phase of the Red Line extension between São Sebastião and Campolide, including new stations.
• For the Purple Line, focus on the section between Santo António dos Cavaleiros and Odivelas, creating a genuine interface with the Yellow Line.
• A “Plan B” to use PRR funds to replace diesel buses with electric ones, with €390 million allocated for this purpose.

However, the Ministry of Cohesion has indicated that any reprogramming will be postponed until 2025, stating that discussions about which projects may be adjusted are still premature.