The EN125 users group and representatives from Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António councils have had their meeting with the Director General of the Court of Auditors, to see what is holding up the Algarve's eastern section roadworks.The road is dangerous, potholed and a depressing welcome to the Algarve for travellers. Locals are beyond despair at the road surface, or lack of, and went to Lisbon to demand that the Court of Auditors explains why it has been holding up the repairs, as the government repeatedly has claimed.
The Director General of the Court of Auditors explained at the meeting that it is still waiting for the Infraestruturas de Portugal road company to send in some clarifications that the Court asked for, before it can OK the resurfacing contracts.
The Algarve's representatives now have to book a meeting with Infraestruturas de Portugal to ask why it has been misleading them, as has the government.
The government has justified the delay in completing the roadworks, first mooted nine years ago, on the Court of Auditors but the delay has been due to the process of renegotiating the Algarve Litoral sub-concession contract, sent by Infraestruturas de Portugal at the Court of Auditors on October 27th, 2017.
For more than two years, the government has been saying that the roadworks were held up by the Court of Auditors, when the project had not even been admitted.
The Court returned the document to the road company on December 11th, 2017 as it was not correctly submitted.
Over three months later, on March 14th, 2018, a new renegotiation contract was filed at the Court. On March 28th, the Court of Auditors asked for some clarifications on the process and is still waiting for Infraestruturas de Portugal to respond.
Thus, the Director General of the Court of Auditors explained to the group, everything entered in October 2017 is resolved. He patiently explained that a process cannot get "stuck" at the Court, as the road company had claimed, as response times are covered by deadlines that are fixed by law and strictly are adhered to.
Needless-to-say, the EN125 Citizens Movement is not best pleased at the deliberate misinformation issued from the government and from the road company,
"The excuses given by the Government and Infraestruturas de Portugal, saying the delay is due to a jam at the Court of Auditors, show that they want to thrown sand into the public’s eyes, especially in the Algarve's eastern region," read a statement sent to newsrooms.
The roadworks on the western, Vila do Bispo to Olhão, section, are still not finished. In the eastern Algarve there are no contracts, no sub-concession, no roadworks and no start date for a road that shames the nation.
"Infraestruturas de Portugal has to explain this delay and the constant blaming of the Court of Auditors. Having exhausted the ‘Court of Auditors delays’ argument, will they have the courage to come up with a few more?" questions the users group.
Before the enlightening meeting with the Court of Auditors, the EN125 users group handed in its 7,180 signature petition to the Assembly of the Republic, demanding "the urgent renovation of the EN125 between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António."
The group representatives were received by the vice-president of the Assembly of the Republic, Jorge Lacão, who accepted the petition, a letter addressed to the president of the Assembly and some images of the pitiful state of the road.
The next excuse probably will be that the roadworks cannot possibly start this spring as the tourist season is about to start. With the avearage mph down to single figures along some sections of the road, tourist traffic will experience little difference in journey times whether the roadworks have started or not.
Meanwhile, the government is delighted that more and more drivers are being forced onto the Via do Infante toll road.
