Between airports and dilapidated schools: The Portuguese State’s misplaced priorities

By Fernanda Pedro, Director, Diário Imobiliário

Portugal is preparing to invest tens of billions of euros in major infrastructure projects such as the new Lisbon airport and the high-speed rail network (TGV).

These are ambitious, high-profile, and politically appealing projects. They represent modernity, competitiveness, and strategic vision.

But there is an inevitable question that the country continues to avoid: How can a state that aspires to be at the forefront of Europe continue to fail in such basic functions as guaranteeing decent schools and hospitals that are fit for purpose?

A question of priorities

While railway routes, airport locations, and political timetables are being discussed, thousands of students continue to study in aging schools, many of them without adequate conditions.

According to data from the Court of Auditors, the public company Parque Escolar, which runs Portugal’s schools stock, spent around €2.3Bn to renovate just over 150 secondary schools.

The amount is impressive. But the result, when compared to the size of the national school system, reveals the scale of the problem.

Portugal has around 4,000 primary schools, more than 220 primary and secondary schools, approximately 300 secondary schools, and nine art schools.

In other words, the rehabilitation carried out so far covers only a small part of the existing school network. And many of the schools that have been renovated still need maintenance and modernisation today.

The estimated investment needed to truly upgrade the school infrastructure is around €69Bn.

A gigantic amount, undoubtedly, but one that should be seen as a structural investment and not as a secondary expense. After all, is there anything more strategic for the country’s future than education?

Healthcare projects put on ice

The same can be said of healthcare. Portugal has promised new hospital projects for decades, many of them have never left the drawing board and have ended up being symbolic of postponement and paralysis; of projects that have been politically put on ice indefinitely.

The Central Hospital of the Algarve has been promised for about 40 years. Lisbon East Hospital (Todos os Santos) has been dragging on for 16 years between announcements and studies, with an estimated cost of €432 million euros.

Seixal hospital has been waiting for more than two decades, despite the existence of available land. Barcelos has been waiting for years for a unit that was promised and budgeted at €80 million. Vila do Conde, Lagos, and the Hospital do Oeste, in Bombarral, remain stuck between political intentions and administrative sluggishness.

Meanwhile, existing hospitals face chronic problems: overcrowded emergency rooms, lack of professionals, outdated equipment, and aging buildings.

It is true that there are ongoing projects, such as the hospitals in Évora or Madeira. But it is also true that many of these interventions took decades to get started and are still far from meeting the scale of national needs.

The problem is not in building a new airport or developing a modern rail network. The country needs these infrastructures.

The problem arises when these projects seem to advance with greater speed, political priority, and capacity for financial mobilisation than absolutely essential sectors such as education and health.

There is a difference between projects with political projection and structural investments with social impact.

The airport generates headlines. The high-speed train symbolises progress. But a renovated school directly improves the learning of thousands of children. A modern hospital saves lives, reduces inequalities, and strengthens social cohesion.

The Portuguese state often seems seduced by the logic of visible works, of the grand projects that mark governments and legislatures.

However, true development is measured less by media-driven concrete and more by the quality of public services that underpin people’s daily lives.

A modern country is not just one that has fast trains or gigantic airports. It is one that guarantees safe schools, efficient hospitals, and dignified public services.

So, perhaps Portugal urgently needs to redefine what it considers truly strategic.