Role of Parque Expo
The Parque das Nações area underwent deep transformation and regeneration, especially from an environmental perspective, thereby enabling great value to be added to all the area’s features, while maximising its potential fruition value for the future.
Among the most important sub-projects that were implemented, the decontamination of soil formerly occupied by oil companies, as well as of underground water deposits, the mothballing of the Beirolas rubbish dump, and the treatment, elimination of pollution, and upgrading of the mouth of the Trancão River deserve particular highlight.
After the preliminary stage involving relocation of the area’s population and business activities, the majority of the existing construction and structures were disassembled and demolished. The works began on a cleared area with construction of a 6.2 Km technical gallery for the purposes of housing hot and cold water supply facilities, structures for waste collection by suction, fresh water supply and watering systems, and power supply and fibre-optic telecommunications systems. Construction of the primary networks involving an extension of 40 Km followed, together with a lifting station for domestic waste disposal and two power substations.
Lastly, all secondary and surface infrastructure was built, in general, and the volume of work involved laying out a total of 286 Km in piping for gas, fresh water, watering, automatic urban solid waste collection, and domestic and riverine sewerage collection networks, and including four lifting stations for domestic waste collection processing, two solid waste treatment stations, and two pumping stations to supply the watering systems.
Construction of the pavement for pedestrian areas involved laying out 220,000 square metres in vidraco white stone, 180,000 square metres in granite cobblestone, and 130,000 square metres in concrete pavers. About 650,000 square metres of parking facilities were constructed.
This renewal operation included as well the construction of a new network of roadways and accessibility features, bringing together various means of public transport and major road and railways infrastructure (namely the Vasco da Gama Bridge, on-ramps to the Northern Highway, Lisbon’s Inner Ring Road, suburban trains, underground network, and the city’s roadways system), which were all interfaced through construction of an Multi-modal Transports Station – the Oriente Station.
At the same time, various renovation and renewal interventions were implemented along various roadway axes within the areas surrounding the Intervention Zone, with particular emphasis on works impacting on the Relógio Rotunda, Marechal Gomes da Costa Avenue, Alfredo Bensaúde Avenue, Prior Velho Node, José Queirós Square, and Infante D. Henrique Avenue.