Porto, Oct. 21, 2025 (Lusa) - The demolitions planned for the high-speed railway line project between Porto and Oiã are 236, including 185 homes and 45 businesses, according to the execution project submitted by the AVAN Norte consortium, which is already under public consultation.
According to the document, made available on Tuesday on the participa.pt portal and available for public consultation until 11 November, "in the case of Direct Affections in the Execution Project", there are 185 dwellings and 45 economic activities, "totalling 230 expropriations".
According to the AVAN Norte consortium (Mota-Engil, Teixeira Duarte, Alves Ribeiro, Casais, Conduril and Gabriel Couto), the figure compares with 213 in the previous phase (Environmental Impact Study), but "in reality, in the case of the EIA, 213 + 49 = 262 Affections should be counted against the 230 Affections of the Execution Project", argues the group of companies.
At issue are alterations to the project "in the Mamodeiro Tunnel (9 allocations), in the Canelas Industrial Zone (5 allocations) and in the Grijó/Serzedo area (35 allocations), adding up to 49 temporary allocations/tunnels in the Preliminary Study (EIA) which, for reasons of constructive safety, will require temporary expropriation and which, in the best case scenario, will allow the inhabitants/workers to return to their homes/work at a later date".
However, this is not a desirable situation from the perspective that they will be living/working very close to the tunnel (20 metres), subject to vibrations from the high-speed line during its more than 100 years of operation.
In a justification for the differences compared to the previous study, the AVAN Norte consortium states that "the differences reflect a natural evolution of the project", due to a "more precise scale of work (1:1000), allowing for greater technical rigour", "coordination with local authorities, resulting in more integrated solutions adjusted to the territory", "environmental and functional optimisation, with rationalisation of tunnels and viaducts, and an increase in restorations".
The consortium also mentions "improving safety, accessibility and comfort, with interventions such as the Gaia surface station and the upgrading of Campanhã station", and "efficient resource management, such as the use of quarries for land disposal and the elimination of redundant structures".
The Porto-Oiã section of the high-speed line was financed by the EIB to the tune of €875 million, with the total cost of the section totalling €1,661 million.
In addition to the EIB loan, which is partly from the InvestEU programme, the project will also benefit from €900 million in additional funding from various national and international financial institutions, €480 million in grants under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and €150 million in co-financing from IP.
The first phase (Porto - Soure) of the high-speed line in Portugal should be ready by 2030, and the second phase (Soure - Carregado) is expected to be completed in 2032, with a connection to Lisbon via the Northern Line.
The connection from Porto to Vigo, in Galicia (Spain), scheduled for 2032, will have stations at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, Braga, Ponte de Lima and Valença (Viana do Castelo district).
According to the previous government, the investment costs for the Lisbon-Valença axis are around €7-8 billion.
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