Bridge will connect Algarve’s Alcoutim to Andalusia’s Sanlúcar de Guadiana
The long-awaited bridge connecting Alcoutim in Portugal and Sanlúcar de Guadiana in Spain is one step closer to becoming a reality after the formal agreement between the two countries officially took effect on June 26, 2025.
The mayors of both towns – Paulo Paulino (Alcoutim) and José María Pérez Díaz (Sanlúcar) – welcomed the news in a joint statement this week, thanking the national governments, regional authorities, embassies, and other organisations in both countries for supporting the project.
The agreement was first signed in Faro at the Iberian Summit in October 2024 and was officially approved by Portugal in February 2025 and confirmed by Spain in February and June this year.
Alcoutim is leading the project and has already completed its responsibilities, including finishing the final design of the bridge in August 2024, as part of the EU-funded Recovery and Resilience Plan.
But before construction can begin, both governments need to approve the final design, following a review by a special joint technical group. However, that group still needs to meet.
The two towns are now asking Portugal and Spain to schedule that meeting as soon as possible and to commit to funding and setting a realistic timeline for building the bridge – a project that locals have been waiting on for decades.
