During a statement at the inauguration of the Lisbon Underground Multicore Fiber Ring (LUMIRing), located at the Cidade Universitária Metro station in Lisbon, Cristina Pinto Dias explained that the Government is undertaking necessary procedural actions, anticipating that “the situation will be regularized by the first half of December.”
“Necessary decisions have already begun to be made. Specifically, we have created the position of vice-president due to the complexity evident from face to face millions and millions of euros in investments currently underway [beginning of the Red Line expansion project],” she stated.
When asked about potential changes in the composition of the Metro de Lisboa Board of Directors, the Secretary of State indicated that she was uncertain about any alterations, but it was confirmed there would be both a president and a vice-president.
On October 30, the Government approved in the Council of Ministers the creation of the vice-president position on the Metro de Lisboa Board, with Maria Helena Campos appointed as interim president following the death of Vítor Santos in June 2024.
The decree-law modifying the statutes of Metropolitano de Lisboa introduces “the role of vice-president of the board, maintaining the same number of members.”
“The change aims to enhance the management and governance capacity of the company amidst significant growth and expansion of the metro network, contributing to sustainable mobility and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area,” a brief note stated, without further details.
The current Board of Administration of Metropolitano de Lisboa was appointed for the 2022-2024 term, with Vítor Santos designated as president and Maria Helena Campos and João Paulo Saraiva as members of the Board of Directors.
According to information on the official Metro de Lisboa website, Sónia Páscoa also serves as a board member until the end of the current mandate.
Following Vítor dos Santos’s death in June 2024, board member Maria Helena Campos assumed “the duties inherent to the position of President of the Board of Administration, replacing the incumbent.”
In July, the magazine Sábado and the newspaper Expresso reported the Government’s intent to appoint Cristina Vaz Tomé, former Secretary of State for Health Management, as president of the Metropolitano de Lisboa Board, noting that the current Metro administration had been “unable to make decisions due to a lack of quorum since the beginning of the month, following the resignation of João Paulo Saraiva.”
