By the end of the year, the government expects to have completed the construction or upgrading of 40 university residences, with more than 4,000 beds, among the 131 projects underway.
The balance of the National Plan for Accommodation in Higher Education (PNAES) is included in a “transition folder” for the next executive, released today by the government led by António Costa.
Of the 131 construction and redevelopment projects underway, which correspond to an investment of 447 million euros under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, 40 should be completed by the end of the year.
This makes 4,275 beds available for higher education students, to which should be added 3,356 beds in the 66 residences completed in 2025 and 3,801 beds in the 17 residences completed by the end of 2026.
With a total investment of 516 million euros, the PNAES plans to increase the capacity currently installed by 78%, from 157 to 243 residences and from 15,073 to 26,772 beds between 2021 and 2026.
For the Higher Education sector, the transition portfolio also mentions the award of the qualification enhancement wage premium, a measure provided for in the 2024 State Budget that consists of returning the value of tuition fees, in the form of an annual premium, to young people who stay working in Portugal.
António Costa’s government is also preparing a proposal to renew the legislature’s contract for the 2024-2027 period, “which is ready to be approved for discussion with the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities and the Coordinating Council of Higher Polytechnic Institutes”.
The proposal reflects a new funding model for higher education institutions, strengthens their financial, asset and human resources management autonomy and creates the conditions for the employment of 1,400 researchers and the indefinite hiring of PhDs for scientific research careers.
The 50-page document was released after the start of the meeting of the last Council of Ministers of this government, which is chaired by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
“This Public Transition Folder contains some of the most relevant projects under development in the various areas of government,” says the document, which is divided into 24 themes.
The Council of Ministers, which is taking place at the Caixa Geral de Depósitos premises in Lisbon, began at around 10:40.
The meeting, chaired by the President of the Republic, started a little late, after the Prime Minister and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had visited the facilities that have been adapted to house several ministries.
The Democratic Alliance (the pre-election coalition that brought together the PSD, CDS-PP and PPM) won the elections on April 10 and the PSD leader was appointed Prime Minister by the President of the Republic. Luís Montenegro will present his government on Thursday and is due to take office on April 2nd.