A More Flexible Approach To Public Procurement

On 23 October 2025, Decree-Law 112/2025 was published, introducing the fifteenth amendment to the Public Contracts Code (PCC), as well as to Law 30/2021 of 21 May, which had itself already been amended on several occasions.

The change may appear limited, as it affects only Article 43(3) of the PCC, but it marks a fundamental change in approach to public works contracts. The design-build option will no longer be exceptional. Instead, it becomes a free choice within the limits of the contracting authorities' administrative discretion.

The legislature frames this change as a response to the need to develop "mechanisms to mobilise and encourage players in the construction sector, with a view to increasing the supply of housing and consequently mitigating the imbalance between supply and demand". This may involve the already growing option of industrialising construction. It may also involve