Brisa guarantees that it is assuming, “at this moment”, the immediate costs of the intervention on the section of the A1 (Northern Motorway) that gave way at kilometer 191, following the collapse of a dike on the River Mondego, but avoids committing to who will pay the final bill and the possible loss of toll revenue. At issue is work that could take weeks and an old concession contract, with its own rules for “force majeure” situations.
The information was provided by ECO and results from statements by António Pires de Lima, CEO of the group, in an interview with SIC Notícias, in addition to written responses sent to the editorial staff of the economic newspaper.
The collapse on the road occurred in the Casais area, in Coimbra, after the collapse of the dike, and led the concessionaire to begin urgent work to contain the damage and prevent the problem from spreading to the other lane.
Immediate costs assumed by Brisa, but no response regarding the “end of the bill”
Regarding the immediate responsibility, Pires de Lima was clear: “Brisa is responsible for the costs. We will ensure the work”, he stated in the interview cited by ECO. The company, however, does not provide an estimate of the total cost, nor does it assume a firm deadline for completing the repair.
Questioned by , an official source from the concessionaire reinforced that “at the moment the priority is to stop the deterioration of conditions on the road” and that “it is still too early for Brisa to have an answer” about who will pay for the work in the end.
The same source adds that, “as the technical solution to be implemented to completely restore traffic conditions on the A1 has not yet been defined, it is not possible to estimate the total value of the interventions to be carried out”.
“We don’t do dike maintenance”: the line of defense on responsibilities
In the aforementioned statements, Brisa’s CEO highlighted that dike maintenance is not the responsibility of the concessionaire. “We don’t maintain dikes”, he stated, framing the reduction as a consequence of the failure of a structure “under public management”.
The manager detailed the mechanism of the incident in these terms: “a dike, which does not depend on a private company, much less Brisa, when bursting causes erosion of the landfill area”, adding that “a dike or several under public management can burst”.
Brisa also admits to having “a vast insurance package, dedicated to infrastructure”, but says it is premature to assess whether coverage will be activated and what level of exposure is associated with the event.
What the concession says: maintenance of the highway and exception due to “force majeure”
The A1 concession contract, framed by Decree-Law no. 294/97, of October 24, establishes that “the concessionaire must maintain the highways that constitute the object of the concession in good condition and perfect conditions of use”, carrying out “all necessary work” to guarantee quality standards and user rights.
At the same time, the same contract provides for a safeguard for exceptional situations: “the concessionaire is exempt from liability for lack, deficiency or delay in the execution of the contract when a duly proven case of force majeure occurs (…)”.
And it specifies: “Force majeure cases are only considered to be those resulting from unforeseen and irresistible events (…) namely acts of war or subversion, epidemics, atomic radiation, fire, lightning, serious floods, cyclones, earthquakes and other natural cataclysms (…)”.
Who pays in the end: the compensation “hole” and the role of the State
According to the analysis released by ECO, although the contract provides for force majeure, an automatic state compensation mechanism in these cases is not explicit. In other words, even if Brisa excludes direct responsibility for the collapse of the dike, the basic rule points to the concessionaire ensuring the restoration of traffic conditions.
ECO also highlights that, unlike subsequent contracts, in the case of Brisa Concessões Rodoviárias (BCR) an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was not set to facilitate an “automatic” financial rebalancing, which makes the outcome more dependent on negotiation.
Even so, the newspaper admits that, if the situation is framed as a force majeure not attributable to the concessionaire, it may be difficult for the State to “escape” a solution that helps absorb costs — whether through political understanding or through renegotiation.
Repair without a final date and conditioned by the Mondego level
As for the calendar, Pires de Lima does not assume a definitive deadline for fully reopening the affected section. As he explained, it will be necessary to wait for “the Mondego River to return to its normal rhythm to begin the repairs” itself.
“As soon as Mondego is back to normal, we will start” the work, anticipating “another two or three weeks to finish”, he said, quoted by ECO. “I hope it’s not months,” he added.
ECO also says that it questioned the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, but that, until the moment described in the text, it had not received an answer regarding who could be asked to bear the final costs of the intervention and the impact of the loss of toll revenue.
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