According to the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, in a press conference, the Council of Ministers approved “more spending, approximately €48 million more, for the completion of the Lisbon metro expansion plan, on the Yellow and Green lines, Rato-Cais do Sodré”.

“I would like to point out here that this increase brings the total investment to €380 million, which corresponds to an 80% difference compared to the forecast when the investment was launched in 2018,” said the government spokesperson.

Leitão Amaro emphasised that practically all of the "80% increase was decided in 2022" and, obviously, now we cannot "leave the work half-finished."

"But it is worth considering how a project that ends up with this cost dimension, €380 million, for mobility, in the centre of the capital, in two neighbourhoods that are not particularly needy, was launched, and a decision was made and communicated to the country that ends up costing 80% more," he stressed.

According to the Lisbon Metro's expansion plan, the Circular line foresees extending the Rato station (Yellow line) to the Cais do Sodré station (Green line), with two new stations: Estrela and Santos.

The Secretary of State for Mobility, Cristina Pinto Dias, in October 2024, during a hearing at the parliamentary committee on Economy, Public Works and Housing, revealed that the delays in the implementation deadlines of the three Yellow/Green, Red and Violet metro lines ranged between 18 and 30 months, and the budget deviations were close to €500 million.

The Circular line, which was scheduled for completion in December 2023 and cost R$ 210 million, has so far had four revisions, increasing to 331.4 ME (a deviation of 58% from what was initially planned) and a subsequent completion forecast for the second quarter of 2026, 30 months more than the initial deadline.