Portugal’s modular building law seen as sector catalyst

Portugal’s planned legislation for industrialised, or modular, construction is being welcomed by builders as a potential catalyst for the sector, with implications for public procurement and housing supply. Companies said the move could give the industry scale, reduce uncertainty and help lower delivery times and costs at a time when Portugal is facing a housing access crisis.

Infrastructure and Housing Minister Miguel Pinto Luz said this week that the government is preparing a new package of measures to regulate industrial construction. He said the government is working on public procurement rules to create a framework agreement open to the whole public administration, including municipalities, so industrial construction companies can bid for those contracts.

José Teixeira, chairman of DST Group, told ECOnews the legislative change is “a great novelty” because it would institutionalise industrial construction and act as a trigger for innovation already being developed by companies and universities. He said current procurement rules can block innovative alternatives to traditional projects, while industrial construction also offers more predictable final costs because buyers are purchasing a finished product rather than a project exposed to later changes and omissions.

António Rodrigues, chief executive of Casais, said industrial construction only becomes viable at scale, so measures that promote the sector are welcome. He said clearer legislation would remove unpredictability for companies and could make some contracts more competitive.

Ricardo Gomes, president of construction industry association AICCOPN, also backed a clearer and simpler legal framework, saying industrialisation could raise productivity, shorten execution times and strengthen the sector’s ability to respond to housing needs, particularly in affordable housing and larger projects.

At the same time, industry representatives said modular construction alone will not solve Portugal’s housing problems. They pointed to slow licensing, regulatory fragmentation, labour shortages, financing conditions and the availability of serviced land as broader constraints that still need to be addressed.

Originally published at Eco.pt