Trade Minister Ömer Bolat on Monday highlighted significant opportunities as Portugal plans to invest billions of dollars in new infrastructure projects, with the southern European country saying its doors are "wide open" to Turkish firms.
Bolat's remarks came after Türkiye earlier this month sent a large contracting delegation to inspect on-site infrastructure and superstructure projects that the southern European country on the Iberian Peninsula plans for the upcoming years.
"Our Portuguese friends said they plan to invest $75 billion (TL 3.15 trillion) over the next decade in infrastructure, housing and telecommunications, and that they are expecting Turkish contractors and investors to take part," he told the Türkiye-Portugal Business Forum in Istanbul.
Portuguese infrastructure projects, including airports, high-speed railways, tunnels, bridges and housing developments, represent "important opportunities" for Turkish contractors, who are globally recognized for their high quality, cost efficiency and fast delivery, said Bolat.
"Our contractors have undertaken 12,665 projects in 137 countries, worth a total of $547 billion, including $500 billion in the past 20 years alone," he noted.
Also addressing the event, Manuel Castro Almeida, Portuguese minister of economy and territorial cohesion, said his country is "very interested in strengthening our relations with Turkish entrepreneurs."
"We are currently focused on constructing a new airport as part of a restructuring process for Lisbon. In addition, we have major goals in housing construction. We need to build a large number of homes," Almeida said.
"The government has a program to build 130,000 housing units, but since the actual need is much greater, we expect contributions from the private sector. Schools need renovation, and health centers and hospitals must be modernized."
He noted that a large hospital is currently under construction in Lisbon, describing it as a significant project for the country's scale.
"Our population is around 10.5 million. While we need such an ambitious infrastructure program and our unemployment rate is low, our doors are wide open to foreign investors, especially Turkish companies, to contribute to the growth of our economy," Almeida added.
Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) head Nail Olpak said Portugal's infrastructure projects are attracting widespread interest.
"This includes investments in transportation, airports, high-speed rail, housing and telecommunications. Our delegation from the Turkish Contractors Association has just returned from a visit related to these developments. It is our shared aspiration that our well-established firms can take part in these projects," Olpak noted.
Turkish companies have made around 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) in investments in Portugal, operating in both manufacturing and trade, Bolat said. There are around $270 million in Portuguese investments in Türkiye, with about 80 companies operating in various sectors, he added.
"The trend indicates that mutual investments will increase much more rapidly," Bolat added.