Motorway tolls could increase by 2.3% in 2026, if the annual inflation rate estimate for October is confirmed. The amount will increase the 0.1% compensation to concessionaires agreed by Pedro Nuno Santos, when he was Minister of Infrastructure.
The National Statistics Institute (INE) formula establishes how the increase in the price of tolls in each year is provided for in decree-law no. 294/97 and establishes that the variation to be applied each year is based on the annual inflation rate without housing on the continent recorded in the last month for which data is available before November 15th.
This is the deadline for dealers to communicate their price proposals to the Government for the following year.
According to provisional data released by INE, that inflation reference stood at 2,2%. The definitive value will be released by INE on November 12th.
More compensation agreed by Pedro Nuno Santos
0.1% is added to this value, following the agreement signed in 2022 by the Government with the motorway concessionaires to compensate for the brake that was then imposed on an increase of around 10% in 2023.
This is because, in 2022, the year-on-year evolution of prices on the continent, without housing, exceeded 10%, a value that led the executive to negotiate with the concessionaires a solution that limited the increase in toll values in 2023 to 4.9%.
On that occasion, the then Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santosstated that, in addition to the 4.9% increase borne by motorway users, a portion (2.8%) was the responsibility of the State, with the remainder “up to 9.5% or 10.5%” borne “by the concessionaires”.
As compensation for the 4.9% limit imposed in 2023, it was then established that concessionaires could, in the following four years, increase the toll update value arising from their respective concession contracts by a further 0.1%.
Em 2024 e 2025 tolls also suffered a update greater than 2%.
