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Eastern Algarve EN125 roadworks remain on hold

EN125RoadsideThe timeless delay in resurfacing and upgrading the Algarve’s EN125 road in the east of the region finally has driven those affected Councils to demand that the government does more than sit on its overpadded rear-end and commences the essential work.

Algarve Council chiefs are demanding that the government rescinds the contract with the concession holder, Rotas do Algarve Litoral, so that the State-owned body, Infraestruturas de Portugal, can fix the crumbling road.

This is 'the only solution now acceptable' to exasperated Councils after the Court of Auditors blocked the agreement between the State and the concession holder, which had served to halt all work between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António.

The renegotiation of this Public Private Partnership has been suspended for a year after the Court stated that the agreement was not valid, followed by an inevitable appeal that added further delay.

The original Court ruling has been upheld and Tavira mayor Jorge Botelho stated that, "The next step, in our opinion, is to scrap the existing concession for the 50 kilometres that remain to be fixed between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, so that Infraestruturas de Portugal can finish the work.

"I have already asked for a meeting with the Minister, at which I will give our position.

“But for now, I still have not had any feedback, only at the meeting will we know what the Government's intention is," said Botelho, herading one of the Councils affected.

This is a mess as the Court’s decision means the concession holder is back to its original agremment, meaning that it is the company that must fix the road – something it already has stated that it has no intention of doing.
 
The alternative is to scrap the concession agreement and let the government take on the work, somethiung that Lisbon will be loathed to do as its infrastructure spending is focussed outside the Algarve - and always has been.

 

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Comments  

+3 #5 Rob 2019-06-17 23:53
Idiots in Lisbon are happy to dine out on Algarve revenue but refuse to provide basic services and infrastructure for the region by way of decent roads, transport and medical care which every citizen should be entitled to.
+4 #4 Peter Booker 2019-06-15 15:53
Yes, but………the tourists come anyway, and the Algarve has been touted, amongst US citizens I see, as the best place in the world to retire, even with the tolls and the pot-holes in EN125.

There has even been a move for an extra tax on visitors to the Algarve because of the extra pressure their numbers apply to local services. A potential source of revenue to pay for the road?
+8 #3 Ed 2019-06-15 10:19
Quoting Peter Booker:


A point about the Algarve. Its population is 4.4% of the total population of Portugal, and it occupies 5.4% of the area of the country. Historically, the Algarve has been relatively insignificant in the life of the country, and I do not see that it is much less insignificant now. Why would the government spend resources here, when there would be benefit to a greater number elsewhere?

Quoting Peter Booker:
Rotas do Algarve Litoral has not been paid for the work it carried out on the western section on EN125, and it is therefore not keen to begin on the eastern section. So it is the government´s refusal to pay for the western roadworks which is holding everything up.

A point about the Algarve. Its population is 4.4% of the total population of Portugal, and it occupies 5.4% of the area of the country. Historically, the Algarve has been relatively insignificant in the life of the country, and I do not see that it is much less insignificant now. Why would the government spend resources here, when there would be benefit to a greater number elsewhere?
The reason is the 4.0 to 4.5 million guests/tourists visiting the Algarve each year. By presnting poor infrastructure servicing a vital sector (the Algarve representing over 40%
of the nation's tourism income), Lisbon is hampering the region's efficient functioning.
0 #2 Peter Booker 2019-06-15 09:42
Rotas do Algarve Litoral has not been paid for the work it carried out on the western section on EN125, and it is therefore not keen to begin on the eastern section. So it is the government´s refusal to pay for the western roadworks which is holding everything up.

A point about the Algarve. Its population is 4.4% of the total population of Portugal, and it occupies 5.4% of the area of the country. Historically, the Algarve has been relatively insignificant in the life of the country, and I do not see that it is much less insignificant now. Why would the government spend resources here, when there would be benefit to a greater number elsewhere?
+2 #1 Darcy 2019-06-14 23:10
Looks like the North/South divide is again raising it ugly head. The Government in Lisbon have again proved that the Algarve is the forgotten region of Portugal.
It doesn't seem to be able to release the essential funding to provide the EN125 East Bound with a proper surface.
This road has been patched up in the past 18 months, but NOW it needs a complete resurface, from olhao to the VRSA.
Please don't let it get to the pot hole stage again. ...
How embarrassing ..... to think that politicians, the business community and emergency services are allowing this important National Road to be reduced to a crumbling pot holed dirt track.

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