Lisbon, July 24, 2026 (Lusa) - The president of the Portuguese Engineers' Association highlighted the need for additional labour for major infrastructure projects and called for public policies to attract workers and talent to the construction sector.
Speaking to Lusa, Fernando de Almeida Santos said that Portugal has the necessary business capacity in place, but needs to strengthen its engineering teams and, above all, increase the number of mid-level and skilled workers to carry out the new Lisbon airport, the Third Tagus Crossing and the planned rail investments.
«To achieve all this, we need people in Portugal. Essentially, manual workers,» he stated.
According to the president, the simultaneous implementation of major infrastructure projects will require the country to adapt public policies to the sector's needs and to recruit workers from abroad.
«This will also have to be a political decision by the state to promote the recruitment of labour and talent for the construction sector,» he argued.
He emphasised that such a policy would be necessary for Portugal to complete the works within the announced timetables.
The executive summary of the technical report by ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal forecasts that work on Luís de Camões Airport, at the Alcochete Shooting Range, will begin in mid-2030, be completed by the end of 2036, and for the infrastructure to become operational in mid-2037, with the government and ANA working to bring forward all deadlines, as the relevant ministry and the concessionaire said to Lusa.
He also noted that road and rail links must be in place when the airport opens.
In his view, projects such as the Third Tagus Crossing and high-speed rail links are necessary for the country, regardless of whether the new airport is built.
ANA's report excludes the rail links, the external road network, including the Third Tagus Crossing, and the supply networks required for the airport from the budget of between €7.9 billion and €8.9 billion.
Regarding the new crossing, he considered it technically possible to complete it by 2034, but highlighted the length of the administrative, environmental and planning procedures that precede construction.
«If we want construction of a bridge to begin in 2030, for example, we'll have to get a move on to ensure everything is ready,» he said.
Fernando de Almeida Santos argued that the actual construction work often takes less time than the entire preceding technical and administrative process, calling for the necessary studies and decisions to be fast-tracked.
To illustrate that the main obstacle lies in the preparatory phase, he cited the Vasco da Gama Bridge as a major infrastructure project completed within a short timeframe, noting that around 5 years elapsed between the political decision and the opening.
«Why, after 20 or 25 years, have we not yet built a bridge?» he asked, adding that, from a technical and engineering perspective, the construction is feasible.
Regarding investment in the airport, the president acknowledged that the cost may rise, as ANA notes in its report.
«It is natural for it to rise due to inflation, construction costs and labour shortages,» he stated.
He played down, however, the possibility of a budget increase, as he believes the concessionaire will bear the investment in infrastructure, and that the concession agreement and negotiations with the state will incorporate it.
«Whether it goes up or down, regardless of whether this has to be done, it relates to the costs of the concessionaire that has taken on this concession and, therefore, it simply has to adjust these costs to the business. But the Portuguese state's direct investment is nil from a financial point of view,» he pointed out.
SCR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
