Lisbon, Dec. 4, 2025 (Lusa) - The Santa Apolónia metro station in Lisbon will be closed for around six months due to work on the Lisbon General Drainage Plan (PGDL), starting in January or February 2026, it was announced on Thursday.
"At the moment, calculations are still being made by the National Civil Engineering Laboratory, they are not finalised, so the work has not yet begun, but we expect it to start in January and February," said the mayor of Lisbon.
Carlos Moedas was speaking to journalists after the ceremony marking the start of excavation work by the H2O tunnel boring machine on the second PGDL tunnel, which will connect Beato to Chelas and cover a distance of one kilometre.
The mayor emphasised the importance of the work, asking Lisbon residents for their understanding that the Lisbon Metro will be out of service for around six months between the Terreiro do Paço and Santa Apolónia stations.
"At the moment, the work that needs to be done is being carried out in great detail by LNEC. It is a very delicate project because the drainage tunnel passes close to the metro tunnel. Obviously, during this work, the station from Santa Apolónia to Terreiro do Paço will be closed," he explained.
The Social Democrat added that all alternative means of transport will be provided by public transport, such as Carris, "so that people can get around".
"We cannot put anyone in danger. We cannot have the metro running during such delicate work. That would be impossible and, therefore, the metro will be closed when the work begins," he reiterated.
Despite the proximity of the CP - Comboios de Portugal station in Santa Apolónia, the train service will remain operational, according to Carlos Moedas.
The first PGDL tunnel, connecting Campolide to Santa Apolónia, began construction in December 2023 and was completed on 22 July this year. Previously, already facing delays, the second tunnel was expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
The initial PGDL schedule estimated that it would be fully completed in February 2025.
With a total investment of around €250 million, the PGDL, first announced in 2006 but only moving forward in 2015, with Fernando Medina (PS) as mayor, is considered an important project to tackle flooding in the capital. Still, major interventions, namely the construction of tunnels, only began in 2023 under the presidency of Carlos Moedas (PSD).
The project has an investment of €79 million for 2025.
The two tunnels will collect water from two high points (Monsanto and Chelas), as well as from additional collection points along their route - namely Avenida da Liberdade, Rua de Santa Marta and Avenida Almirante Reis - and carry the volume of water to the receiving body, the River Tagus (in Santa Apolónia and Beato), according to information on the PGDL website.
RCP/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
