Government ‘freezes’ parcels of land for TGV

The Council of Ministers has approved preventative measures to block up parcels of land in order to speed up the first competitive tenders for the high-speed rail link between Porto, Aveiro and Soure.

In effect it means that these parcels of land cannot be sold for construction without a prior report from the public company Infraestruturas de Portugal, which will allow it to freeze up those parcels of land so that the price of the land does not go up and make the cost of the TGV line more expensive.
“The preventative measures will require a prior binding technical report from Infraestruturas de Portugal, on acts and activities to make viable or materialise changes of land use, as well as for the issue of licences, authorisations, or others acts that are in conflict with studies that have already been produced, and could compromise the construction of the rail line and make it more difficult and time consuming”, sates a communiqué from the council.
Despite being a caretaker government, the current administration hopes to launch the first competitive tenders for the TGV in January 2024. “We are in a position to begin the first phase of the operation (construction) at the end of 2028”, meaning the Porto, Aveiro and Soure stretch of the TGV can begin circulating in five years times”, sates the communiqué.
If the first tenders are not launched by January 2024, the State risks losing out on between €700-750 million in EU funding.
The project involves a second high-speed rail link between Porto and Vigo, which could advance within this decade, and which will be linked to Francisco Sá Carneiro airport and Campanhã station, and will also link up with both Braga and Valença station.