Government considers mega concession for all crossings
Tolls on the 25 de Abril and Vasco da Gama bridges will be able to help finance not only the construction of the third crossing over the Tagus but also the tunnel/bridge on the Algés-Trafaria corridor.
The idea of a new, single concession for Lisbon's bridges isn't new, but the government is now considering including the fourth road crossing in the same package. However, the delay in studies for the Algés-Trafaria project could jeopardize this solution. This is because proceeding with a tender without a complete environmental impact assessment for all projects contradicts the recommendations of applicable legal frameworks and could pose a significant risk to the state.
With the final studies still pending, and the assessment of the Algés-Trafaria crossing still in its infancy, the figures on the table for both infrastructures point to investment values that could exceed €4 billion. To help pay this bill, the government is counting on toll revenue from the already paid-off bridges—the 25 de Abril and Vasco da Gama bridges.
This scenario is consistent with statements made by the Secretary of State for Infrastructure during a hearing in Parliament with Minister Miguel Pinto Luz. In response to a question from Chega about the end of tolls on the two bridges currently under construction over the Tagus (in Lisbon), Hugo Espírito Santo replied: "The tolls on the 25 de Abril Bridge helped build the Vasco da Gama Bridge (through the Lusoponte concession). The tolls on these two bridges will help create a third crossing and the tunnel currently being studied, the tender for which will be launched in January."
When he mentioned the tunnel, Hugo Espírito Santo was referring to the Algés-Trafaria crossing, one of 31 road projects for which the government has asked Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) to study the technical and economic feasibility. Funding of €27.5 million will soon be approved for this package of new roads to conduct studies. By the end of the year, IP and the IMT (Institute of Mobility and Transport) are expected to indicate which of these projects could be launched through private concessions.
The integration of investments in these crossings into a new concession has a window of opportunity created by the approaching end of the Lusoponte concession contract in 2030, but the calendar of a future competition is also conditioned by the need to build access roads (more rail than road) to the new airport at the Alcochete Shooting Range, an investment that is outside the obligations of the concessionaire Vinci and that will have to be assumed by the State.
The third Tagus crossing will be a road-rail connection and, in addition to being part of the planned access routes for the new airport at the Alcochete Shooting Range , is also considered " an essential part of the Lisbon-Madrid High-Speed Line project " and will be "a fundamental element in connecting the two banks of the AML (Lisbon Metropolitan Area), allowing for reduced travel times." These quotes appear in a statement from Infraestruturas de Portugal announcing that a study will be conducted to determine the future third Tagus crossing. Associated with this project is the construction of another bridge between Barreiro and Seixal.
The problem with combining two new crossings into a single competition is the great disparity in the state of knowledge and evaluation of the respective projects.
At the end of the first decade of this century, everything was ready to move forward with the Chelas-Barreiro bridge, which even had an environmental impact statement and a competition launched, with a winner chosen. Everything fell apart in 2010, during one of the first PECs (Stability and Growth Programs, which were austerity programs) that anticipated the state's financial crisis and financial bailout.
The project for the third Tagus crossing (the TTT is also known as the Chelas-Barreiro bridge) was revived and has been on the ground for over a year since the Council of Ministers Resolution was approved, and the project launch window had to be aligned with the timings planned for the opening of the new airport.
Before being able to go to tender, however, it is necessary to update the studies carried out in the past, as well as consolidate a set of fundamentals of a technical nature, economic and financial viability and environmental impact assessment.
By the end of the second quarter of 2026, Infraestruturas de Portugal must present a reasoned proposal that allows a decision to be made regarding the contracting and management model to be adopted, which ensures, as determined, an effective and efficient development of the third crossing project, with a high level of quality, and, at the same time, compatible within a framework of good public finance management.
The Algés-Trafaria crossing is much further behind schedule, and this delay could prevent the project from being included in future concessions for the remaining bridges. Although official documents already include it as a project to move forward, there is no technical or economic feasibility study.
So far, IP only has a draft project presented by Lusoponte at the end of the last century to build an underwater tunnel beneath the riverbed. The then-estimated investment of one billion euros would be borne by Lusoponte itself in exchange for exploiting toll revenues. In fact, the contract gave it exclusive rights to operate any road crossing in Greater Lisbon. An average daily traffic flow of 50,000 to 60,000 cars was estimated for a road-only crossing.
The proposal was shelved until then-Minister of Public Works António Mexia revisited the bridge in 2005, but without consequence, given the rapid fall of the Santana Lopes government. The corridor was studied by LNEC (National Civil Engineering Laboratory) in 2008, when decisions were being made about access to Campo de Tiro Airport and the high-speed line from Madrid, which could require a railway bridge to enter Lisbon. Chelas-Barreiro won, as a corridor already existed on the north bank.
Studies for Algés-Trafaria will only be contracted in 2026The process is restarting this year practically from scratch.
In March, Infraestruturas de Portugal received a mandate from the Executive to conduct studies for the implementation of 13 road projects, including the Algés-Trafaria crossing. The feasibility study is scheduled to be launched in January 2026 to select the engineering solution, including whether a bridge or tunnel would be advisable, the type of tunnel, and how it should be laid in the riverbed, as well as the respective mooring points on the north and south banks and access and connections to the road network. Another issue that will need to be evaluated is compatibility with navigation and access to the port terminals east of this corridor.
The feasibility study is the starting point for advancing the cost-benefit analyses that will define costs and returns, the demand study , and the preliminary study . Alongside these, the environmental impact assessment can proceed, but only once this has been approved, along with the corresponding compensation measures, should a tender be launched. This will take at least two to three years , according to industry sources interviewed by Observador.
And despite the government's "rush," which has already included the tunnel in official documents, time seems to be running out for the launch of a single concession that includes all Tagus crossings. This doesn't compromise the TTT's planned timing, which will have to submit all environmental impact assessment studies by the second half of 2026 to proceed with the tender in 2028.
This is the year considered as a reference, considering that it will take at least two years to launch and decide on a new international tender for the operation of the bridges over the Tagus, which includes the construction of the third crossing (road and rail operation can be separated) in time to replace the current concessionaire whose contract ends in 2030. Although it is admitted that Lusoponte seeks to stay longer operating the bridges, following requests for financial rebalancing.
A competition without an environmental assessment is a “big risk”Public law specialist and partner at SRS Legal, José Luís Moreira da Silva, believes that proceeding with a tender only after an environmental assessment has been completed is the “desirable solution,” especially since obstacles and unforeseen costs may arise at this stage.
Under the legal framework for public contracts, the rules of the Court of Auditors, and the legal framework for environmental assessment, a project should only go to tender when it is defined to the maximum extent possible. This was the guideline followed in the tenders for the PPP (public-private partnership) for the high-speed line between Lisbon and Porto.
The jurist admits, however, that the government could create a special regime through a decree-law that overrides these limitations, but "it must assume the risk and justify it ." And José Luís Moreira da Silva warns that this option would be a "great risk for the State," recalling the Liscont case. The expansion of the Alcântara container terminal was contracted in 2008 with the operator (at the time Mota-Engil) in a contract that extended the concession until 2042. The project failed its environmental assessment in 2011 when Parliament had already rejected the legislation that had extended the concession without a competitive tender, creating a stalemate in the courts that took years to resolve.
Another issue that will need to be addressed is the duration and profile of the concession, and who will receive toll revenue. First-generation concessions, such as Lusoponte, are based on a model in which revenues remain with private companies to offset their investment.
The most recent model used in the last road sub-concessions launched by IP during the José Sócrates Government attributed toll revenues to the grantor, who was responsible for paying private parties for the availability of the infrastructure.
Tolls are not enough to finance and if they remain on the concessionaire's side, it poses political risk.Investments in the two new crossings are expected to exceed €4 billion. According to a document released by the government in March on the Tagus Cities Park, which involves large-scale urban redevelopment projects on the north and south banks of the river, €4.5 billion are projected for the two crossings— €3 billion for the third crossing, which includes road and rail access routes that are still under consideration, and €1.5 billion for the Algés-Trafaria tunnel, although the latter project does not yet have a definitive engineering solution.
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