Viana do Castelo, Portugal, Jan. 20, 2026 (Lusa) - The mayor of Viana do Castelo said on Tuesday that construction work on the municipal market on the site of the former Coutinho building has been halted due to an increase in the excavation area following archaeological discoveries.
Luís Nobre was responding to a question from Paulo de Morais, a councillor from the Democratic Alliance (AD), who asked for an update on the work during the municipal government's regular meeting.
The socialist mayor explained that the excavation area "was enlarged at the request of the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N)".
Luís Nobre told the Lusa news agency that "work was halted for the time necessary to carry out the excavations".
"It will depend on what is found," he added.
The construction contract for the new market, valued at €13.37 million, began on 29 September and was due to be completed in 18 months, but the discovery of archaeological finds has delayed the work by three months.
At the end of the council meeting, speaking to journalists, Luís Nobre said that, given the expansion of the excavation area, the local authority had launched a public tender, which has since been closed and is now in the process of evaluating bids, for the acquisition of archaeological services to monitor the construction of the new market and the redevelopment of the surrounding area.
"We decided that it did not make sense for the contractor to be doing very simple, very insignificant tasks, which could endanger the area that needs to be excavated, and we are now focusing solely on the archaeological excavations," he said.
Luís Nobre explained that "whatever is found will determine how quickly the excavations themselves can proceed."
"I cannot say at this point when this phase will end, but we are working to make it as quick as possible so that we can resume the project," he noted.
Remains of the old São Bento convent were found in October 2025 during excavations in the surface car park that existed behind the Coutinho building, which was demolished in 2022 to make way for the new municipal market.
"We are in a sensitive area, one of the first settlements in the city. The first church was the Chapel of Souls, which is right next to [the site where the new market will be built]. We are not in just any space, although in the past, without these concerns, the city's first market and the Jardim building [Coutinho building] were built," he said.
Luís Nobre said that the new market will be built, but "it may involve a more thorough and rigorous registration, or not, of what is found."
ABC/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
