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infrastructure

A Portuguese motorway viaduct curving through green wooded hills under a cloudy sky

After an 18-Year Gap, Portugal Plans €6 Billion of New Road Concessions From 2029 as Brisa's A8 and A15 Deals Wind Down

The government has sketched more than €6 billion of new motorway concessions for 2029-2031 — its first road PPP in 18 years — while opening talks with Brisa over the A8 and A15. The tolling model is still undecided.

The Portugal Brief 02 Jul 2026

A yellow CP suburban train stopped at a Porto station platform under overhead electric lines

Alstom Breaks Ground on a Matosinhos Train Factory Set to Build 81 of CP's 153 New Carriages

PM Luís Montenegro laid the first stone of a ~€28 million Alstom train factory in Matosinhos on 30 June. It will build 81 of the 153 new trains CP ordered under a €746 million contract, create about 300 direct jobs and start production in 2028, with first deliveries in 2029.

The Portugal Brief 01 Jul 2026

Illuminated blue fibre-optic strands fanning out against a dark background

MEO Will Operate a New 'Brexit Cable' Linking Galway to Lisbon, Ireland's First Subsea Route That Skips the UK

MEO will operate PISCES, a roughly 3,000 km subsea cable connecting Galway in western Ireland to Lisbon — the first link letting Ireland reach mainland Europe without routing through the UK. It is MEO's first new submarine cable in 11 years and adds a landing station in northern Portugal.

The Portugal Brief 30 Jun 2026

A modern riverside building on the Tagus in Lisbon with the 25 de Abril bridge in the distance, illustrating the city's river-transport plans

Lisbon Targets a 2027 River-Ferry Return to Parque das Nações, While Transtejo Pegs the Restart No Earlier Than 2028

Lisbon's city hall says river ferries will once again call at Parque das Nações from 2027, reviving a stop that last operated during Expo'98. The operator, Transtejo Soflusa, is more cautious — its president has put the restart no earlier than 2028, pending dredging and demand studies.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jun 2026

Porto's Dom Luís I Bridge spanning the Douro river at sunset, with the city's old town and skyline behind

Portugal Sets a Weekday Ban on Heavy Goods Lorries Across Porto's Congested VCI, Routing Freight to the Toll-Free CREP

Heavy goods lorries will be barred from Porto's VCI inner ring road on weekdays from 07:00 to 21:00, with freight steered onto the toll-free CREP (A41) outer ring. Announced by Minister António Leitão Amaro, the measure takes effect in the second half of 2026.

The Portugal Brief 25 Jun 2026

A yellow Lisbon tram passes the Rua Augusta arch at Praca do Comercio

A Decade of Public-Transport Reform Has Won Portugal More Riders but Worse Journeys, a Lisbon Conference Hears

Ten years into Portugal's public-transport overhaul, ridership is at record highs while service quality slips, transport economists told a Lisbon conference on 24 June. The mobility regulator AMT wants the next generation of contracts rewritten around quality, not just kilometres run.

The Portugal Brief 24 Jun 2026

The Dom Luís I Bridge over the River Douro at sunset, with the Porto and Gaia riverfronts

Porto and Gaia Reject the Road Deck on the Douro High-Speed Rail Bridge, Pressing the Government to Redirect the Funds to a €25 Million Pedestrian-and-Cycle Crossing

The mayors of Porto and Gaia want the car deck dropped from the new high-speed rail bridge over the Douro, arguing the money should pay for a €25 million pedestrian-and-cycle crossing instead. The environmental consultation closes on 29 June.

The Portugal Brief 24 Jun 2026

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