“Rural fires are a tragic reality that plagues Portugal.” This is the opening line of the recent Decree-Law No. 98-A/2025, dated August 24, which establishes measures to support and mitigate the impact of rural fires.
Throughout history, rural fires have been a recurring issue in Portugal, particularly in the summer months. This year was no exception, with a tragic August 2025 affecting many regions, especially inland areas.
A swift governmental intervention was necessary, leading to the approval of a series of measures and supports aimed at assisting recovery efforts for the damages caused by the fires. The government’s objective is to ensure this recovery is conducted as swiftly as possible by the Public Administration.
The Decree-Law No. 98-A/2025, dated August 24, was approved and published in the Official Journal on a Sunday. This law introduces exceptional public procurement measures designed to expedite the signing of public works contracts, leasing or purchasing of movable goods, and procurement of services related to recovery interventions in areas affected by rural fires.
These exceptional measures apply to public procurement procedures by: a) the direct and indirect state administration, including the public corporate sector, and b) local administrations, such as municipalities.
Public procurement involves a series of acts and procedures aimed at establishing contracts between the Public Administration and private entities like contractors, suppliers, and service providers. While private sector contracting is typically more immediate, public sector contracting is often prolonged due to obligations concerning competition, equal treatment, non-discrimination, and transparency.
Decree-Law No. 98-A/2025 addresses the delays in some public tenders from the decision to contract to the signing and execution of contracts. This is particularly critical for larger contracts due to their financial impact and is incompatible with the urgency of rebuilding fire-affected areas and supporting populations.
One measure related to public contracts for fire damage recovery is raising the thresholds for direct award procedures and prior consultation, now aligning with the European amounts stipulated in Article 4 of Directive 2014/24/EU, instead of the amounts in Articles 19 and 20 of the Public Procurement Code (CCP).
This approach prioritizes speed over competitiveness.
Another measure waives the restrictions on selecting entities invited for direct award and prior consultation procedures outlined in paragraphs 2 to 5 of Article 113 of the CCP. Nonetheless, other limits are enforced when forming public works contracts under the direct award type: a) each contractor is limited to a maximum of five direct awards, and b) each direct award can include a maximum of 20 fires for reconstruction or rehabilitation.
While striving for faster formation and execution of public contracts related to reconstruction following rural fires, lawmakers took care to set limits on the selection of entities invited in direct award procedures. These are distinct from those in paragraphs 2 and 5 of Article 113 of the CCP, ensuring not only the same private entities are repeatedly invited and benefit from contracts.
Decree-Law No. 98-A/2025 came into effect on August 25 but is retroactively effective from July 1.
