Financing Portugal's road network

Following a government decision, a new model for the management and financing of the road infrastructures sector was defined in 2007 and is now being implemented The national road agency (Estradas de Portugal or EP, EPE) was transformed into a state-owned public company, Estradas de Portugal, SA (EP, SA), and a new body, the Institute for Road Infrastructures (InIR), was created with public functions of regulation and supervision of road infrastructures. InIR is now the Portuguese national road authorit
April 12, 2012 Read time: 3 mins

Following a government decision, a new model for the management and financing of the road infrastructures sector was defined in 2007 and is now being implemented

The national road agency (1410 Estradas de Portugal or EP, EPE) was transformed into a state-owned public company, Estradas de Portugal, SA (EP, SA), and a new body, the Institute for Road Infrastructures (1411 InIR), was created with public functions of regulation and supervision of road infrastructures.

InIR is now the Portuguese national road authority, and aims to ensure greater transparency and cautioning in the relationship between the EP, SA and the state.

EP, SA is just like a public limited company (plc), but the single shareholder is the Portuguese Republic, while InIR's main mission is to oversee the management and operation of the road network; to check the application of laws and regulations, the concession and sub-concession contracts, always having in mind the need to ensure the implementation of the National Road Plan, as well as ensure the efficiency, equity, quality and safety of the road infrastructures.

EP, SA is now a concessionary company, focused on the conception, design, construction, financing, maintenance, operation, upgrading and enlargement of the national road network, under a 75-year concession contract between it and the state.

Almerindo Marques, EP, SA president, said that under the new model, EP, SA is the only concessionaire.

"Now we have to complete the National Road Plan because it is missing about 2,000km and this new sub-concessions programme includes 2,200km of roads and of these 1,000km are new roads. A large part of these sub-concessions are roads that are already built. They will be included in the sub-concession as 'operate and maintain' roads." The company will rely on PPPs (sub-concessions) for the development of key projects.

At InIR, João Sousa Marques, vice president, admitted that negotiations with concessionaires to transfer contracts from the state to the EP, SA had not always been completely successful.

"We have under our supervision 16 concessions both old and new. It must be difficult to move from one good contract with the state to one with a private company," he said.

"We have a contract to complete the road network by 2012. When this is done about 95% of all traffic will be running on the network." In a nutshell, and by the end of my visit to Portugal, I could well understand what CRP (Portuguese Road Centre) executive vice president António Pinelo told me on arrival: "I am confident that after our meetings with stakeholders you will realise why Portugal was selected as the venue for the 16th 2462 IRF (International Road Federation) World Meeting [25-28 May]."
Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The US FAST Act: a job left unfinished
    April 4, 2016
    US roads and bridges are crumbling at an alarming rate as state governments wring their hands over the increasingly scarce money for repairs. Enter the FAST Act. But is it enough? US state transportation department officials, as well as highway contractors and operators, breathed a sigh of relief in December. For months the highways infrastructure sector waited anxiously to see where the necessary money for road projects would come from. For several years, the Highways Trust Fund – the usual way of paying f
    Read More
  • Portugal and Spain to revamp a bridge over the border river Guadiana
    September 22, 2015
    The Portuguese road operator Infraestruturas de Portugal is to tender a €13 million contract for refurbishment of the international bridge over the Guadiana river, connecting Vila Real de Santo Antonio in Portugal and Ayamonte in Spain. The work will take 18 months and the cost will be shared by both countries, a report in Diário Económico said. Around 80% of the river is in Portugal. The river flows east to west through Spain, then south through Portugal, then forming the Spanish-Portuguese border
    Read More
  • Innovative financing mechanisms for sustainable roads funding
    July 5, 2016
    Francesco Micci discusses innovation in funding methods All countries need an efficient and extended road transport system to sustain both the social development and the economic competitiveness. The latest trends show that the demand for road infrastructure is constantly growing, despite the negative impact of the financial and economic crisis on public and private financing. Global spending regarding road transport infrastructure actually accounts for roughly US$580 billion worldwide, and is projected
    Read More
  • Road user charging to pay for road improvements?
    February 20, 2012
    What is the current situation with Russian roads? It is an objective answer to this question that is contained in the official report of the Federal State Statistics Service for 2009. Here it states: "...public roads are of poor quality: 8.4% of roads accounted for groundwater, nearly a third of roads are gravel, rubble or cobblestone.
    Read More

Highlighted Content