"In the third [tender], which will be the third [public-private] partnership, between Soure and Carregado, we are currently concluding the prior studies to submit them for environmental impact assessment, and the goal is to launch the tender in January 2026", said today João Pereira Fernandes, from IP's Business Development Department.

The IP representative was speaking today at the "High-Speed Challenges" conference, which took place today in Ermesinde (municipality of Valongo, district of Porto), within the scope of Entrelinhas - Railway Workers' Festival, organised by the Valongo City Council and which runs until Sunday.

IP's schedule is designed to allow "the so-called phase 1, which includes PPP 1 [Porto - Oiã] and PPP 2 [Oiã - Soure] ready in 2030", and PPP 3, with over 120 kilometres, "ready in 2032".

The deadline for submitting proposals for the first section of the high-speed line, between Porto and Oiã (Aveiro), was today extended from June to July, according to an announcement published in the Official Gazette (DR).

According to an announcement published today, the deadline for submitting proposals for the public tender for the concession of the high-speed railway line between Porto (Campanhã) and Oiã (Oliveira do Bairro, district of Aveiro) has been changed from 13 June to 2 July.

The procedure has a value of 1.66 billion euros, to which 480 million euros of European funds can be added, thus totalling 2.14 billion euros.

The Lisbon-Porto high-speed line should connect the country's two main cities in one hour and 15 minutes, with possible stops in Gaia, Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria. The Porto-Vigo route is estimated to take 50 minutes.

The first phase (Porto-Soure) of the high-speed line in Portugal should be ready in 2030, with the second phase (Soure-Carregado) scheduled to be completed in 2032, with a connection to Lisbon ensured via the Linha do Norte.

The public tender for lot 1 (Porto-Oiã) of the first phase was launched in January, and the tender for lot two (Oiã-Soure) should be launched in July. The connection to Lisbon will proceed in 2026.

The connection from Porto to Vigo, in Galicia (Spain), after 2030, will have stations at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, Braga, Ponte de Lima and Valença (district of Viana do Castelo).

In total, according to the previous Government, the investment costs for the Lisbon-Valença axis are around seven to eight billion euros.

Read Also: Deadline for proposals for the first section of the high-speed train extended to July (Portuguese version)