The European Commission today opened an in-depth investigation to determine whether Chinese state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC, part of the Mota-Engil consortium, had “an undue advantage” in the Lisbon Metro Violet Line competition.
“The Commission today opened an in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into possible market distortions caused by foreign subsidies. The investigation will examine whether these subsidies gave the Chinese state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC an undue advantage when participating in a public tender for the acquisition of light rail vehicles in Portugal.”the institution announced in a statement.
Brussels adds that the investigation follows a notification from a consortium led by Mota-Engil, which includes subcontractors such as Portugal CRRC Tangshan Rolling Stock Unipessoal and participated in a Lisbon Metro tender launched in April 2025 for the design, construction and maintenance of the new Violet Line.
According to the European Commission, there are “sufficient evidence that Portugal CRRC Tangshan Rolling Stock Unipessoal may have benefited from foreign subsidies that distorted the internal market, justifying an in-depth investigation”.
The investigation now aims to assess whether such subsidies gave the company an undue advantage in the tender and, depending on the conclusions, the community executive may impose corrective measures, prohibit the award of the contract or issue a non-objection decision.
“This demonstrates the Commission’s determination to ensure fair competition and a level playing field in the EU”says the community executive.
According to the Government, in December 2025 the contract for the work relating to the Violet Line of the Lisbon Metro will be awarded.
In a statement released in July, Lisbon Metro said it had received four proposals within the scope of the competition for the construction of the Violet Line, with Mota-Engil presenting the lowest value.
The tender for the Violet Line contract was launched by Metropolitano de Lisboa on April 15, with a base price of 600 million eurosplus VAT.
The consortium constituted by Mota Engil, Engenharia e Construção, SA/Zagope – Construções e Engenharia, SA/Spie Batignolles Internacional – Branch in Portugal proposed the construction for the value of 598.8 million euros.
This investment is part of the expansion of the Lisbon Metropolitan network and is scheduled for completion in 2029.
The Violet Line, 11.5 kilometers long, includes 17 stations: nine in the municipality of Loures (which will serve the parishes of Loures, Santo António dos Cavaleiros and Frielas, for a length of approximately 6.4 kilometers) and eight in the municipality of Odivelas (to serve the parishes of Póvoa de Santo Adrião and Olival de Basto, Odivelas, Ramada and Caneças, with a total length of approximately 5.1 kilometers).
The stations will have different types, 12 surface, three underground and two in trenches.
The first public tender for the Violet Line contract was launched on March 15, 2024 and resulted in the exclusion of all proposals presented by economic operators, as they exceeded the base price of the tender, on average by around 46%.