High speed rail project starts with €600m

The Portuguese government has received assurance from Brussels for European funding that will enable it to move forward with a high speed rail project.

Parpública, a state-run management holding company, signed on January 22 a €600 million contract for the project with Santander, BCP, BES and CGD banks and, according to the Ministry of Finance, conditions in place are very advantageous.

Television channel TVI reported on Tuesday that the project was set to begin between 2014 and 2018 and that the government was now focusing more on commercial travel.

In the previous project by the José Socrates’ government, the construction was set between Poceirão and Caia, a town in the Portalegre district near the Spanish border.