Portugal lost one of its most prominent business leaders today, said António Ramalho Eanes in a statement expressing his long-standing friendship with the Mota family, dating back to their return from Angola.
“My friendship with the Mota family, which grew into deep admiration for Eng. António Mota, dates back to the period when his father, Manuel António da Mota, returned to Portugal after completing significant projects in Angola but bore none of the rewards due to political and social upheaval at the time. He rebuilt Mota & Companhia from 1977, with the significant Mondego river regulation project through an innovative technical solution,” he stated.
Ramalho Eanes noted that António Mota inherited and carried forward his father’s mission and values, establishing himself as a remarkable entrepreneur with foresight.
He emphasized that António Mota spearheaded the transformation of the company into Portugal’s most diversified and internationalized construction group, with a solid international presence and prestige, alongside a commitment to social responsibility through the Manuel António da Mota Foundation.
“He contributed decisively, not only to the recognition of Portuguese civil engineering as an entrepreneurial driving force for the country but also as an exemplar of socially beneficial action,” he said.
Ramalho Eanes recalled that António Mota possessed a solid humanistic grounding and exceptional stature, leaving an unparalleled business and human legacy.
“While his family loses a beloved member, Portugal loses one of its greatest and finest entrepreneurs,” he emphasized.
The former president of Mota-Engil, António Mota, passed away today in Porto at the age of 71.
Born in 1954 in Amarante, António Mota was the only male among four siblings and was groomed from an early age by his father—who had only a fourth-grade education—to succeed him at the construction firm he founded in 1946.
He graduated in Civil Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto (FEUP), spending summer internships during his studies working on various Mota & Companhia projects.
Preference for a low-profile, António Mota treasured weekends with family and the familial nature of the construction company he led. His leadership was marked by a strategy to diversify the group’s activities, branching into new areas from road concessions to port operations, waste management, water, and logistics.
Currently active in 21 countries across three continents (Europe, Africa, and America), Mota-Engil’s main shareholders are the Mota family holding (MGP) with 40.19% of the capital and Epoch Capital Investments B.V. with 32.41%. It is listed on the PSI, the main index of Euronext Lisbon.
Mota-Engil reported attributable profits of 92 million euros for the first nine months of this year, a 20% increase year-on-year, while business volume in this period reached 4.090 million euros, a decline of 1.4% compared to the same period last year.
