On Monday, the working group of the Porto Municipal Assembly that monitors investments in public transport stated that, on April 30, two work fronts on the Rosa Line were 700 days late, the equivalent of more than two years.
In a statement, Metro today that it is “completely false that there is a delay of 700 days in the project” and reaffirms that the work will be completed by July of next year.
“The work on the Rosa Line was consigned to the Ferrovial/ACA consortium on March 16, 2021, with an execution period of 42 months, with the widespread occupation of spaces on public roads to carry out the work starting in October 2021”, adding that the work will end “a few months” after the deadline stipulated in the contract.
Metro also recalls that the consignment of the work took place while the country was in a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the state of alert being extended until September 2022. The company also lists the consequences of the impacts caused by the war in Ukraine on logistics chains, increased costs, and unavailability of raw materials and equipment.
At a press conference, the working group of the Porto Municipal Assembly shared its concerns about "the slipping of deadlines" for completing the metro works and the lack of information shared with citizens.
At the beginning of May, Metro do Porto concluded, under Rua dos Clérigos, the excavation of the first tunnel of the future Pink Line, with the remaining two tunnels expected to be completed this year and the line to be operational in July 2025.
The Pink Line will connect São Bento to Casa da Música, with connections to the current metro stations, and will have intermediate stations at Hospital de Santo António and Praça da Galiza.
The total costs of the Pink Line amounted to 304.7 million euros, in July last year, and the total value of the expansion works on the Yellow Line and the Pink Line rose by around 20 million euros to 511 million, according to a resolution of the Council of Ministers.
Currently, Metro do Porto has six lines in operation, awaiting the inauguration of the extension of the Yellow Line (D) between Santo Ovídio and Vila d'Este (Vila Nova de Gaia), and the completion of the works on the Pink Line ( G), between São Bento and Casa da Música (Porto) and the Metrobus line between Casa da Música and Praça do Império.