The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a €875 million loan for the construction of the high-speed rail (HSR) line between Lisbon and Porto. This first tranche of financing is for the construction of the Porto – Oiã section, which is part of the first phase of the project. The line will reduce travel time between the two cities from almost three hours to just over an hour. The loan is part of a larger €3 billion EIB package approved under the InvestEU scheme. In addition, a 30-year concession has been awarded to Avan Norte and Gestão Da Ferrovia de Alta Velocidade, which form the LusoLAV consortium, for the design, construction and maintenance of the 71 km section. The project is expected to serve up to 10 million passengers per year. Additional financing includes €900 million from other institutions, €480 million from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme and €150 million from Portuguese infrastructure operator IP.
