Ferrovial inaugurates Porto subway extension in Portugal
Ferrovial today inaugurated the extension of Porto Metro’s Yellow Line, which it built in a joint venture with Portuguese construction company Alberto Couto Alves. The ceremony was attended by Miguel Pinto Luz, Portugal’s Minister of Infrastructure, and Maria da Graça Carvalho, Minister of Environment and Energy, accompanied by Juan Magín Lozano Villalta, Ferrovial Construction’s Head of Civil Engineering for Iberia and LatAm.
The project, with a budget of €99 million, has generated an average of 284 direct jobs during the 36-month construction period. During this time, a new 3.15-kilometer section of light metro to extend the Yellow line from Santo Ovídio station to the south of the city, serving the districts of Vila Nova de Gaia, Mafamude e Vilar do Paraiso, Oliveira do Douro, and Vilar do Andorinho. It also included the construction of a viaduct, a 770-meter tunnel, and three new stations.
One of the most complex parts of the project was the construction of a viaduct between Santo Ovídio and Manuel Leão stations. The metal latticework structure on piers up to 22 meters high traces a curve 420 meters long. Due to the difficulty of erecting it with cranes from the ground, the 2,746-ton structure was slided into place from one end. Its assembly took 143 days of work around the clock, involving 77 people.
Ferrovial’s participation in this subway extension, which began in 2021, reaffirms the company’s contribution to transforming Portugal’s infrastructure. Ferrovial has been operating in Portugal for over three decades, having participated in landmark projects such as the construction of the Linea Norte railway line connecting Lisbon with Porto, Lisbon Metro’s Blue Line, the Via do Infante highway in the Algarve, the Daivões dam, and the Gouvães hydroelectric power plant.