Vasco da Gama Tower Vasco da Gama Tower The Vasco da Gama Tower (, ) is a lattice tower with skyscraper in the civil parish of Parque das Nações, the municipality of Lisbon, in Portugal. Built on the north bank of the Tagus river, it is named after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (the first European to arrive in India by sail, in 1498). The tower was built in 1998 for the Expo '98 World's Fair. At the base of the tower was a three-story building that served as the European Union Pavilion during the Expo. While they were open, the tower was
Vasco da Gama Bridge capital city. Construction began on February 1995; the bridge was opened to traffic on 29 March 1998, just in time for Expo 98, the World's Fair that celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery by Vasco da Gama of the sea route from Europe to India. The bridge carries six road lanes, with a speed limit of , the same as that on motorways, except on one section which is limited to . On windy, rainy, and foggy days, the speed limit is reduced to . The number of road lanes will be enlarged to eight when traffic reaches a