Medway threatens to leave Portugal: “We have full support in Spain”

Medway is seriously considering leaving the Portuguese market. The Portuguese government reportedly did not follow up on earlier agreements with the company. MSC’s rail freight subsidiary now says that a relocation to Spain is on the table.

The CEO of Medway, Carlos Vasconcelos, expressed his dismay at the failure of the Portuguese government to implement earlier decisions and agreements “which were already taken and guaranteed”. Portugal pledged to provide financial energy incentives to the sector but failed to do so. It also raised track access charges by 22 per cent.

As a result, “the group is, in fact, considering whether it is worth continuing to operate in Portugal when it has full support in Spain”, Vasconcelos told Portuguese publication TSF in order to explain a possible relocation to Portugal’s neighbour. Medway’s exit from Portugal would be a hit for the country’s rail freight sector, as the company currently occupies a market share of 80 per cent.

Relocation to Spain

Medway says it may relocate its headquarters to Spain, where business conditions are more favourable. “I’m going to Spain, where they support us, they have track access charges eight times lower than Portugal’s, they support energy and fuel”, Vasconcelos states.

The company already operates in Spain, and has overtaken Transfesa to become the country’s fourth largest operator. Medway has achieved annual growth rates of 15 per cent on the Spanish market.

Moreover, Medway was selected as the candidate to take over the loss-making Spanish freight operator Renfe Mercancías’ freight business as part of a privatisation effort.

Warning the new government

The CEO’s words are likely a warning to the new government, which has the opportunity to reverse the course of the previous one. “We do not understand the previous government, this inaction, not complying with a decision taken and guaranteed”, Vasconcelos says. “I hope that this new government will resolve the situation.”

“The Prime Minister himself guarantees that he will pay immediately and then they don’t fulfil it. It is clear that this creates enormous discomfort and leads a foreign investor to say: What kind of country am I working and investing in, what do I have? Projects that exceed 390 million euros, what am I doing here?”, the CEO concludes.

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