Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) is the largest beneficiary of the Recovery and Resilience Plan in Portugal, having received more than 446 million euros for road investments, but ranks only 14th in the ranking of the largest beneficiaries at European level. This amount is far below the 13.81 billion euros received by the Italian Railway Network, which is the largest beneficiary of the European bazooka. Italy has the largest PRR in all of Europe, with 194.4 billion euros, and the Railway Network received 9.12% of this envelope for projects such as high-speed lines and station modernization.
Spain, with the second largest financial envelope (101.73 billion euros), has ADIF as its largest beneficiary, appearing in third place in the European ranking with 2.92 billion euros. The second company that received the most funds from the PRR was Tauron Polska Energia from Poland, with 3.86 billion euros for digital transformation and the Energy Support Fund. Portugal, with the eighth largest financial envelope (21.9 billion euros), has IP in 14th place, using the 446 million euros for cross-border connections, railway digitalization, and increasing network capacity.
The list of the largest beneficiaries shows that infrastructure and transport is the area with the highest volume of support in most European countries. In France, which has the fourth largest PRR (40.27 billion euros), the largest beneficiary is the development bank BPI France, in fourth place in the ranking, with 2.67 billion euros for decarbonized hydrogen projects, ecological transition, and support for the aerospace sector.
In recent reprogramming, the European Commission opened the door to the creation of financial instruments through promotional banks. Portugal created the Financial Instrument for Innovation and Competitiveness (IFIC), managed by the Portuguese Development Bank, to support reindustrialization, artificial intelligence, and defense. The deadline for meeting milestones and targets with Brussels is August 31st, but the financial execution of the PRRs will continue until the end of the year, so the ranking may still change.
