The Ministry of the Environment confirmed that the cost of working on the pink and yellow lines of the Porto metro has increased by 29% and 30%, about 84 million euros, according to a reply that Lusa accessed today.
According to a response from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action (MAAC) to the PSD deputy Firmino Pereira, “in terms of the estimated value of the increase in costs due to the price review” “for the yellow line will be about 30%, for the Pink Line, about 29%”.
At stake are the contracts for the extension of the yellow line in Vila Nova de Gaia (Santo Ovídio – Vila d’Este, including the construction of a material and workshop park), and the construction of the pink line in Porto ( São Bento – House of Music).
The initial cost of the works amounted to 98.9 million euros (Yellow Line) and 189 million euros (Pink Line), but with the increases known today, the total cake grew by about 84 million euros, according to calculations by the Lisa’s office.
In addition to the contract, the total investment in the two projects amounts to some 407 million euros, including expropriations, projects, supervision, equipment and support systems for exploration.
The answer known today follows questions from the deputy on January 20, in which the parliamentarian asked the government whether there was an agreement between the parties on the revision of prices, what the estimated value is for the cost increase and whether the increase would be supported by the state budget.
“The costs arising from the price review can be borne by resources from the national budget, without prejudice to the allocation of resources resulting from financial availability from other sources of funding,” the ministry’s response to the PSD deputy states.
The government also replied that the contract signed by Metro do Porto with the groups responsible for construction (Ferrovial/ACA) “establishes a price review mechanism in accordance with the formula contained in the said contract, with an agreement between the parties”.
The ministry led by Duarte Cordeiro also stressed that “the increase in costs is due to the exceptional situation in the supply chains due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the global energy crisis and the consequences of the war in Ukraine”, which “significant increases in commodity and labor prices, with special emphasis on the construction sector”.
On September 8, 2022, the Secretary of State for Urban Mobility, Jorge Delgado, had pointed to an increase of between 20% and 30%.
The extension work on the Yellow Line is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year and that of the Pink Line by the end of 2024.
Source: DN
