Lisbon, Nov. 20, 2025 (Lusa) - The management of the Colombo shopping centre in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, have guaranteed the safety of the entire structure of the building, following complaints, including from a residents' association, about visible structural deterioration in several pillars.
"The structure of the Colombo Centre is completely safe, and its stability and structural performance are fully guaranteed," the management of this shopping centre, located in the parish of Carnide and considered the largest in the country, with around 120,000 square metres and more than 300 shops, told Lusa on Wednesday.
The Vizinhos em Lisboa residents' association denounced the structural risk of the Centro Colombo building, particularly one of the shopping centre's pillars, and demanded an urgent inspection by the city council due to the "potential risk to public safety", as well as the intervention of other entities, including the Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE).
This association presented photographs that it considers to prove the "visible structural degradation in several pillars and concrete components’ of the Colombo Centre, including "chipped areas, loss of material and the presence of improvised materials, such as adhesive tape, applied directly to the pillars".
"At the same time, opaque coatings are being applied that could hide critical signs of cracking or fragility. As Colombo is one of the busiest places in the city, the situation raises serious public safety concerns," warned the Vizinhos em Lisboa residents' association.
In response to the Lusa news agency, the management of the Colombo Centre stated that "the pillar whose image has been circulating in recent days is in perfect safety conditions and does not pose any risk to the use of the building".
"There is no fracture, crack or damage to the concrete. The effect visible in the photographs and videos is the result of a misalignment in the pillar's cladding and does not affect its structural function," it added, emphasising that the structural soundness of the pillar in question has always been guaranteed by the shopping centre's technicians.
Proactively, the management of Centro Colombo requested independent opinions from entities specialising in structures, highlighting "the assessment by LNEC - National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, which confirms that there are no cracks or disintegration of the concrete in the pillar or slab, and therefore there is no mechanical breakage of the pillar, nor any risk of detachment and falling materials".
"It therefore concludes that there is no danger to the movement of people and goods," said the shopping centre's management.
Similarly, Centro Colombo requested an assessment by the engineering firm Adão da Fonseca - Engenheiros Consultores, Lda., which also "confirms the full functional stability of the structure, emphasising once again that there is no risk to people or goods".
Centro Colombo is currently carrying out renovation work on the shopping centre, with the sole aim of innovating its space to improve the visitor experience, and "this work is not related to the structure of the building and has no impact on it".
In this context, Colombo's management reiterated that the normal operation of the shopping centre is guaranteed "in complete safety, with no risk to visitors or workers".
SSM/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
