Portugal faces 2.2 billion euro funding gap for PRR projects

The Portuguese government is addressing a funding gap for infrastructure projects left out of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). Estimates suggest that at least 2.2 billion euros in projects will require alternative financing, such as the State Budget, Portugal 2030 funds, or the European Investment Bank.

Minister of Economy Manuel Castro Almeida explained that these projects were excluded from the PRR because they could not be completed by the August 31 deadline set by the European Commission. Some projects were also part of an ‘overbooking’ strategy used to ensure all available European funds were utilized by including more projects than originally planned.

A full assessment to identify the specific works and their current progress is expected in October, following the submission of the tenth and final payment request to the European Commission. The government maintains that the PRR has been 100% fulfilled in terms of the milestones and targets agreed upon with Brussels.