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New Praça de Espanha to Be Ready by the End of 2020

11 February 2019

Fernando Medina, the mayor of Lisbon, stated that the completion of the works on the new Praça de Espanha, which will be led by NPK – Landscape Design, the winner of the international public tender for the project, is forecast for the end of 2020. The works are scheduled to last for ten months, with another year for the maintenance of green spaces and an estimated cost of 6 million euros. The information was released today during the official presentation of the winning proposal for the new public square, which took place at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

The present square, where car traffic is a dominant presence, will give way to a vast garden – equal or larger than the Estrela park – with areas for recreation, leisure and sports. Water will be a predominant factor, and the landscapers plan on uncovering streams and water lines that have been covered over for decades.

Mayor Medina described the work of the new Praça de Espanha (Spanish Square) as emblematic of the “Lisbon of the future,” since it is based on sustainability, the creation of green spaces and a sort of regreening, investments in more environmentally friendly mobility systems and general improvements to the quality of life of the city’s inhabitants. In this regard, the mayor said that for every 1,000 citizens who opt to use public transport and/or bicycle lanes, “we’ll do away with another 5 kilometres of lined up cars…”

Original Story: Diário Imobiliário

Translation: Richard Turner