"The overall project can be said to be 50 million euros more expensive at the moment. And we need to be aware that, in a project of this magnitude, this probably won't be the last time the budget needs to be changed", admitted the president of Metro do Porto, Tiago Braga.

The official was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the contract for the acquisition of 22 new vehicles for the Porto Metro from the Chinese company CRRC Tangshan, which took place at Campo 24 de Agosto station.

At issue was the announcement, in the speech by the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, of a "reinforcement for the Rubi Line" of "another 50 million euros", agreed at a meeting of Secretaries of State.

Tiago Braga explained that it was necessary to "adjust the financial architecture of the project to accommodate" additional expenses, namely "some issues associated with the signalling systems", which will be different from the current one to enhance more frequencies.

"It's nothing new. It happened on the Yellow Line, with the Pink Line", he recalled, noting that future overpricing could still come from price review mechanisms.

At issue is the "inflation in costs" in the construction industry, particularly human resources, which are increasing very significantly and continue to be very aggressive.

"On the Pink Line, we had additional costs with the tunnel. This is known. Because building a tunnel is not an exact science, there are additional works associated with the construction of the tunnel itself. It is necessary to accommodate contingencies associated with the very nature of the work", he explained.

The Rubi Line, which covers 6.4 kilometres and eight stations, includes a new crossing over the Douro, the D. Antónia Ferreira bridge, the Ferreirinha, which will be exclusively reserved for the metro and pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

In Gaia, the stations planned for the Ruby Line are Santo Ovídio, Soares dos Reis, Devesas, Rotunda, Candal and Arrábida, and, in Porto, Campo Alegre and Casa da Música.

The project must be completed by the end of 2026, but a source from Porto Metro has already admitted to Lusa that the bridge will only be completed in 2027, with finishing touches being the main issue.

Initially, the project had a cost of €435 million.