Construction: Metro 3 North compromised, Infrabel €57.8M for 7 stations, Housing Fund resumes

Regional 2026 budget voted: framework for the sector

On 27 March 2026, the Brussels Parliament voted the 2026 regional budget (plenary 53 in favour / 32 against). Three structuring envelopes for construction:

• SLRB/BGHM: €400M injected over the legislature + 1,000 public housing units announced
• Roads: +€10M additional in 2026 (AI maintenance, night works)
• Station security: €28M allocated for Brussels-South cleanliness + security (on top of €10M RPD Midi/Nord)

The bMa Strategic Plan (Bouwmeester / chief architect Lisa De Visscher), approved on 16 April 2026, provides for bMa opinion delivered in half the time for projects ≥ 5,000 sqm — first operational measure of the RPD goal of cutting permit timelines by 50%.

Sources: 2026 budget voted in plenary (BX1/BRUZZ 27 March 2026); BRUZZ, "bMa Strategic Plan approved" (16 April 2026).

Infrabel: €57.8M for 7 accessible Brussels stations (24 April 2026)

The federal Council of Ministers approved on Friday 24 April 2026, on the proposal of Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés), an amendment to Infrabel's 2023-2032 multi-year investment plan. €57.8 million is released to raise platforms and improve access at 7 Brussels stations: Brussels-South (Midi), Etterbeek, Schaerbeek, Haren-South, Uccle-Stalle, Forest-East, Bordet. Funding from the postponement of two major rail projects (Rail Ghent-Terneuzen, accessibility of other stations) which will not start before 2030.

Sources: BRUZZ, BX1 (24 April 2026).

Metro 3 under the North Station: officially compromised (23 April 2026)

The 18th hearing of the Brussels Parliament's Special Metro 3 Commission (23 April 2026) heard Henri Ernst, CEO of Galère SRL (SM Progrès consortium appointed by Beliris): "We assume there is little chance the project [under the North Station] will proceed."

Beliris recently asked the consortium to complete only the surface urban redesign around the station (rue du Progrès, rue d'Aerschot) — no longer the underground cavity. A new V.E.R.T. technique would require +€75.119M on top of the €22.56M already spent, with no feasibility guarantee. The site has been idle for several years.

See the full dossier: Metro 3.

Sources: BRUZZ Urbanism, La DH Bruxelles (23 April 2026).

Housing Fund: mortgage credits resume on 1 July 2026

Mortgage loans of the Brussels-Capital Region Housing Fund — suspended since summer 2025 for lack of financing (banks refused to lend to the body in the absence of a regional government and a voted budget) — are to resume on 1 July 2026. Announcement by State Secretary for Housing Karine Lalieux (PS) in a Brussels Parliament committee, 23 April 2026. Resumption depends on the regional guarantee being granted on the financial markets ("a formality", Lalieux cabinet). Ecoréno loans already resumed on 1 January 2026.

Source: La DH Bruxelles (23 April 2026).

The brownfield dilemma

The 18-month moratorium announced in the agreement covers 9 sites (Keyenbempt, Calevoet, Josaphat, Meylemeersch, etc.) and represents ~800 potential housing units per year, nearly a quarter of Brussels' annual housing production. Wiels, Avijl and Donderberg are preserved. Chant des Cailles and Dames Blanches are confirmed as construction sites.

Source: Moustique (February 2026).

Sector context: worst crisis in a decade

• −1,402 construction firms in the Brussels-Capital Region in 2024 — first decline in ten years
• Residential construction down 7.3% in 2024 nationally
• No recovery expected before 2026-2027 at the earliest (Embuild)
• Neo (Heysel) officially restarted in the 12 February 2026 agreement

Sources: Embuild, market outlook; La Libre, "the greatest challenge since World War II" (February 2026).