Government announces 25,000 mega housing project for Lisbon

The Government has unveiled an ambitious project to build 25,000 homes – Tagus Cities Park – that promises to transform part of the River Tagus riverside into a large metropolis, uniting the two banks of the river.

The ambitious urban project will cover an area of 4,500 hectares, equivalent to 55 times the East Lisbon Parque das Nações site, creating around 200,000 jobs.

The Government has presented the project to the mayors of the 18 municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (AML) and to the mayor of Benavente, which aims to “transform the riverside area into a large metropolis in which the river works as a link to the territories instead of separating them,” a press statement said.

The project is based on four structured axes: Arco Ribeirinho Sul, Ocean Campus, Humberto Delgado Airport and Airport City.

“In the four axes, land will be redeveloped and regenerated, networked cities will be created fostering a circular economy, with housing, businesses and a public transport system.

The urban regeneration project will be built on public land, much of it on former industrial sites on the banks of the Tagus that for many years have been totally unused.

The Tagus Cities Park also integrates housing, leisure, research and cultural spaces, such as the Tagus Opera, an International Congress Center and the Airport City.

In terms of infrastructure, two new Tagus crossings are planned: the Third Tagus Crossing (TTT) and the Algés-Trafaria tunnel; a single airport with a capacity for more than 100 million passengers and investment in a high-speed rail link.

“The project will be funded by an upfront allocation of €26.5 million while the management is based on a joint model between the central government and the municipal councils,” the note says.