The Algarve metrobus, designed to improve connections between Faro, Loulé and Olhão, is at risk of being suspended due to lack of funding. The project is valued at around R$100 million, but the municipalities involved do not want to move forward without greater support from the Government.
According to , the proposal was launched by the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, but has not yet passed the study phase. The community contribution provided for through the Algarve 2030 program covers 60% of the investment, leaving the remaining 40% for the councils of Faro, Loulé and Olhão, that is, around 40 million euros.
Mayors ask for national support
The president of CCDR Algarve, José Apolinário, admits that investment could even fall if there is no agreement between the municipalities that own the work. At this moment, according to the person responsible, there is no consensus to move forward with the project as planned. Ricardo Calé, mayor of Olhão, considers that the metrobus is a structural project, but argues that local authorities do not have the financial capacity to support their part. The mayor’s expectation is that the Algarve will be treated like other regions of the country, with support from the Government through the Environmental Fund or direct public investment.
At stake is the so-called national component, estimated at around 40 million euros. Without this reinforcement, municipalities fear being responsible for a burden that is too heavy for their budgets.
Why the Algarve receives less European support
The problem originates from the way the Algarve came to be included in community funds. The region left the list of the poorest in Europe and, therefore, no longer benefited from the higher reimbursement rates that exist in other territories. While some areas of the country can receive community support of around 85%, the Algarve is limited to a co-participation of 60%. In practice, this means that, in a project worth 100 million euros, around 40 million remain unfunded, an amount that would have to be borne by the chambers involved.
For mayors, this difference puts the Algarve in a difficult position. The region has increasing pressure on roads, more population and strong tourist activity, but receives less European support for structuring mobility projects.
First phase would connect Faro, Gambelas and airport
The target set for the execution of the project is 2029, but José Apolinário admits that the work could progress in a phased manner. In a first stage, it was planned to create a corridor dedicated to public transport of around ten kilometers between Faro, the University of Algarve, in Gambelas, and Faro Airport. Connections to Parque das Cidades, Loulé and Olhão would be left for later phases. This solution would allow starting with a shorter part of the project, maintaining the ambition of creating a more efficient alternative to the car in the so-called central Algarve.
The goal would be to remove between 35,000 and 40,000 cars from the roads that currently clog the three municipalities. Between 150,000 and 180,000 people live in this area, in a territory where traffic jams have become increasingly frequent.
Project can go to the drawer
The president of CCDR Algarve makes it clear that the decision will have to be taken soon. If the impasse continues over the next few weeks, the study may be put aside and the available funds may be proposed to the European Union, together with the Government, to be directed to other priorities.
The fund in question is intended to promote sustainable multimodal urban mobility. However, without understanding between the chambers and without national support, the metrobus may not get off the ground. The uncertainty comes at a time when the Algarve is facing sharp population growth. According to the latest provisional data from INE cited by Público, the region recorded, between 2021 and 2025, the highest population growth in the country, with an increase of 13%.
Interior also requires solutions
The debate about the metrobus arises at the same time that public transport problems in the Algarve interior remain unresolved. The Algarve Intermunicipal Community, known as AMAL, is the regional entity responsible for public transport, but the metrobus project bypassed this structure.
Brandão Pires, secretary of AMAL, told Público that the matter was never addressed in the intermunicipal community. According to the person responsible, the project would only have been coordinated between the councils of Faro, Loulé and Olhão and the CCDR, in the previous municipal mandate. Next week, AMAL should reissue the public call for the operation of the Vamus intercity public transport network. The process had been launched around three months ago, but was annulled upon recommendation by the National Transport Authority.
Vamus competition is around 108 million
The new Vamus network tender should have a service contract value of around R$108 million, for a period of eight years. Still, there are locations that remain outside the expected coverage. According to Brandão Pires, more than 700 locations with more than 700 inhabitants are left out, which, by law, also have the right to public transport. AMAL is studying a solution, together with the councils, so that these populations can be served by taxi or other means.
In the current concession, in force until October, dispersed settlements were included in the notice, but the model would have worked poorly. The problem shows that mobility in the Algarve is not limited to the urban axis between Faro, Loulé and Olhão. It also involves ensuring a response to those who live in the interior and continue to depend on their car for almost all trips.
Decision now depends on financing
The metrobus was presented as a solution to reduce traffic, improve connections and respond to the growth of the central Algarve. However, the future of the project is now dependent on a financial decision. Without national support, the chambers involved say they are unable to afford the approximately 40 million euros that remain outside of community co-participation. With support from the Government, the work could progress, possibly in phases, starting with the connection between Faro, Gambelas and the airport. For now, the project remains at risk. The decision is expected to be made in the coming weeks, at a time when pressure on mobility in the Algarve continues to grow.
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