You know Lisbob and his outspokenness: it is summer, and to relax the atmosphere Lisbob wanted to take stock of these famous infrastructure or renovation projects which have still not seen the day in Portugal, despite recurring announcements and sometimes even several inaugurations. Of course, this problem exists in other countries and Portugal is not the worst. Still, 30 years to decide to build an airport is a long time, and it is risky to decide on end dates when a project is "launched". In question, a mixture of disorganization, improvisation, corruption but also of crises of all kinds. Lisbob, the expats assistant, has prepared for you the top 5 projects that take a little time to come to fruition in Portugal. If we forgot one, please let us know in the comments.
Top 5 projects that take "a little" time to complete in Portugal
5. Arroios metro station
Our top 5 projects that take a little while in Portugal start with the Arroios metro station in Portugal. This station was inaugurated in 1972 and closed in 2017 for renovation. Indeed, it was the only station that was not long enough to accommodate the entire metro (maybe it would have to be thought of before?). The work, scheduled for a period of one year, is still not completed in 2020.
Worse, the company chosen to do the work realized that in the end it could not do what was asked of it! No date for completion of the works on the Arroios metro station is scheduled, and dozens of shops have closed since 2017.
4. High-speed train Lisbon - Porto
We continue our classification of projects still not carried out with the high-speed train line between Lisbon and Porto. This 20-year-old project comes back regularly, emphasizing the advantage of connecting the two largest cities in the country with a high-speed train line.
Problem? It is expensive, and the current journey takes 2h40 in the Alfa Pendular train at 220 km / h. The covid-19 crisis could relaunch this famous project which is so dear to Portuguese politicians. The most optimistic completion date is 2030.
3. A third bridge for the Tagus
If there is any infrastructure that the Portuguese have nothing to envy, it is bridges. Connecting people and territories, Portuguese bridges are steeped in history. The capital city has 2: that of April 25th and that of Vasco da Gama. So never two without three?
The idea of a third bridge to link Lisbon with its south shore was already out of the cupboard in 2008. Scheduled to be finished in 2013, this project was abandoned in favor of the economic crisis and also the questioning of his utility. While the project appeared to be completely abandoned, it returned in 2019 with the goal of building a railway-only bridge before 2030.
2. High-speed train Lisbon - Madrid
Do you like the Lisbon - Porto high-speed train project? You will love the one with Madrid. Spain has an impressive network of high-speed lines, larger than the French network for example.
The idea of a high-speed train line connecting the two Iberian capitals (625 kilometers away) was finalized in 2008, for completion in 2013.
The new high-speed train line was even supposed to pass over the new third Lisbon bridge! This project was abandoned because of the crisis but comes back regularly on the table. The covid-19 crisis could also revive this Arlesian high-speed train.
1. Montijo airport
How not to finish our top projects which take "a little" time to be realized in Portugal without mentioning the undisputed winner: Montijo-Lisbon airport.
Lisbon needs to decongest its airport, which is located in the city, and the decision to build a second one was made decades ago. The choice of Montijo was made in 2008, with the project to build a modern airport.
Unfortunately today in 2020, Lisbon airport is overcrowded and Montijo airport has not even started work. After a battle over the consequences on the Tagus ecosystem, it is now the veto of the impacted mayors that is preventing progress on the new airport.
