PORTUGAL: Porto Metro has opened an international PPP tender for an eight-year operation and maintenance subconcession, with the new contract expected to start in April 2027.

Metro do Porto Eurotram crossing the Dom Luís I Bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia
Metro do Porto Eurotram on the Dom Luís I Bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia. Illustrative photo. Photo: Vitor Oliveira, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Portuguese government presents the contract with a base value of €690 million and says it will be financed through the transport system’s own revenues, without financial costs for the state. The formal procurement records separately use a different base-price figure for the procedure.

Tender gives price a 90% weighting

Companies have until 21 October 2026 at 17:00 to submit proposals through the ACIN electronic platform. The formal procurement notice lists a procedure base price of €465,129,105 excluding VAT, says variant bids are not permitted, and requires bidders to keep their proposals valid for 180 days after the deadline.

The award uses three weighted factors. Price accounts for 90% of the evaluation, Eurotram fleet reliability for 7%, and intelligent safety and asset-protection management for 3%. The procedure includes neither a negotiation phase nor an electronic auction. The successful bidder will also have to provide a 5% security based on the expected discounted net payments for the first two years and eight months of the contract.

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Scope covers the network, fleet and technical systems

Metro do Porto said the new subconcession is intended to cover both existing and future lines. Its scope also includes maintenance of the network infrastructure, the operator’s vehicle fleet and the associated technical systems.

The operator currently has 120 vehicles, with another 22 units already awarded and in production. Those additional vehicles are intended primarily for the future Rubi Line, expanding the fleet that the next operation and maintenance arrangement will have to support.

April 2027 is the planned handover point

A June 2026 government approval for the PPP states that the current subconcession with ViaPorto, signed in 2018, runs no later than 31 March 2027. The new agreement is expected to enter into force the following month and run for eight years, with no renewal option listed in the procurement notice.

The contract is also intended to accommodate expansion of the network, including the future Rosa, Rubi, Gondomar and Trofa lines. The tender therefore combines continuity of daily operations with a larger maintenance and service scope as Porto Metro prepares for its next operating period.

Porto Metro recorded more than 94.5 million journeys in 2025, 5.4% more than the previous year, adding passenger growth to the operational demands facing the next subconcessionaire.

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