Second high-speed line tender to be relaunched soon

Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) said today that the second tender for the high-speed line between Porto and Lisbon, which runs from Oiã (Oliveira do Bairro) to Coimbra , should be relaunched “very soon”.

In response to the Lusa news agency, IP said today that the process of launching the second public-private partnership (PPP) for the high-speed line “is in its final approval phase, with its launch expected very soon”, without indicating a specific date as to when this might happen.

Previously, IP had stated that this new public tender should be launched on May 31st, with the deadline already being approximately two months past.

Coimbra City Council recently said that the competition will be launched this month.

This second PPP comes after a first competition launched in July 2024, which received a single proposal that was rejected by the jury, after proposing the diversion of the Coimbra-B high-speed line station to Taveiro, outside the city of Coimbra, contrary to what was foreseen in the project.

This new tender maintains the station in Coimbra-B, but reduces several concession costs, shortening the route planned in this PPP, which previously ended in Soure, and which will now be in Taveiro.

In response to Lusa, IP said today that construction of a new passenger building in Coimbra-B will continue, while the section that was previously part of this PPP (Taveiro to Soure, approximately 11 kilometers long) will be included “within the scope of the next PPP” for the high-speed line project, which will go to Carregado, including a station in Leiria.

In February, Jornal de Negócios reported that the competition jury concluded, in its preliminary report, that the Lusolav consortium (led by Mota-Engil) did not comply with the specifications and recommended its exclusion from the only proposal submitted.

The decision to revoke the contract with the Lusolav consortium was in line with the Coimbra City Council, which defended the exclusion of this proposal and the relaunch of the public tender with the utmost urgency, later supported by the Municipal Assembly, with a motion from the CDU approved by all forces, with the exception of the PS and Chega, which abstained, and a vote against from the president of the Union of Parishes of São Martinho do Bispo and Ribeira de Frades (PS).

Those municipal bodies in Coimbra criticized the fact that the only proposal did not respect IP's solution, proposing a diversion of the future Coimbra-B intermodal station to Taveiro.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, in an interview with the newspaper Público on March 28, said he was “convinced that [the tender] will be with the same base price”.

Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) said today that the second tender for the high-speed line between Porto and Lisbon, which runs from Oiã (Oliveira do Bairro) to Coimbra , should be relaunched “very soon”.

In response to the Lusa news agency, IP said today that the process of launching the second public-private partnership (PPP) for the high-speed line “is in its final approval phase, with its launch expected very soon”, without indicating a specific date as to when this might happen.

Previously, IP had stated that this new public tender should be launched on May 31st, with the deadline already being approximately two months past.

Coimbra City Council recently said that the competition will be launched this month.

This second PPP comes after a first competition launched in July 2024, which received a single proposal that was rejected by the jury, after proposing the diversion of the Coimbra-B high-speed line station to Taveiro, outside the city of Coimbra, contrary to what was foreseen in the project.

This new tender maintains the station in Coimbra-B, but reduces several concession costs, shortening the route planned in this PPP, which previously ended in Soure, and which will now be in Taveiro.

In response to Lusa, IP said today that construction of a new passenger building in Coimbra-B will continue, while the section that was previously part of this PPP (Taveiro to Soure, approximately 11 kilometers long) will be included “within the scope of the next PPP” for the high-speed line project, which will go to Carregado, including a station in Leiria.

In February, Jornal de Negócios reported that the competition jury concluded, in its preliminary report, that the Lusolav consortium (led by Mota-Engil) did not comply with the specifications and recommended its exclusion from the only proposal submitted.

The decision to revoke the contract with the Lusolav consortium was in line with the Coimbra City Council, which defended the exclusion of this proposal and the relaunch of the public tender with the utmost urgency, later supported by the Municipal Assembly, with a motion from the CDU approved by all forces, with the exception of the PS and Chega, which abstained, and a vote against from the president of the Union of Parishes of São Martinho do Bispo and Ribeira de Frades (PS).

Those municipal bodies in Coimbra criticized the fact that the only proposal did not respect IP's solution, proposing a diversion of the future Coimbra-B intermodal station to Taveiro.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, in an interview with the newspaper Público on March 28, said he was “convinced that [the tender] will be with the same base price”.

Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) said today that the second tender for the high-speed line between Porto and Lisbon, which runs from Oiã (Oliveira do Bairro) to Coimbra , should be relaunched “very soon”.

In response to the Lusa news agency, IP said today that the process of launching the second public-private partnership (PPP) for the high-speed line “is in its final approval phase, with its launch expected very soon”, without indicating a specific date as to when this might happen.

Previously, IP had stated that this new public tender should be launched on May 31st, with the deadline already being approximately two months past.

Coimbra City Council recently said that the competition will be launched this month.

This second PPP comes after a first competition launched in July 2024, which received a single proposal that was rejected by the jury, after proposing the diversion of the Coimbra-B high-speed line station to Taveiro, outside the city of Coimbra, contrary to what was foreseen in the project.

This new tender maintains the station in Coimbra-B, but reduces several concession costs, shortening the route planned in this PPP, which previously ended in Soure, and which will now be in Taveiro.

In response to Lusa, IP said today that construction of a new passenger building in Coimbra-B will continue, while the section that was previously part of this PPP (Taveiro to Soure, approximately 11 kilometers long) will be included “within the scope of the next PPP” for the high-speed line project, which will go to Carregado, including a station in Leiria.

In February, Jornal de Negócios reported that the competition jury concluded, in its preliminary report, that the Lusolav consortium (led by Mota-Engil) did not comply with the specifications and recommended its exclusion from the only proposal submitted.

The decision to revoke the contract with the Lusolav consortium was in line with the Coimbra City Council, which defended the exclusion of this proposal and the relaunch of the public tender with the utmost urgency, later supported by the Municipal Assembly, with a motion from the CDU approved by all forces, with the exception of the PS and Chega, which abstained, and a vote against from the president of the Union of Parishes of São Martinho do Bispo and Ribeira de Frades (PS).

Those municipal bodies in Coimbra criticized the fact that the only proposal did not respect IP's solution, proposing a diversion of the future Coimbra-B intermodal station to Taveiro.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, in an interview with the newspaper Público on March 28, said he was “convinced that [the tender] will be with the same base price”.