The opposition PSD party in the Algarve says that the Court of Auditors' decision to refuse the contract and budget to upgrade the EN125 eastern section, "exposes the Government's behavior in this process."
"The PSD-Algarve has sought to alert successive governments to the importance of the total upgrade of the EN125, which slowly has been frustrating the legitimate expectations of the local population and has not given the Algarve the priority it deserves," reads today's Social Democratic Party statement.
"The current Government has always argued that the problem of the roadworks between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António was the Court of Auditors and thus tried to shield itself behind that institution to escape its responsibilities.
“The renegotiation of the concession, presented by the Socialist government, failed. It was awarded in 2017 and again in 2018. Notwithstanding this fact, in 2016, 2017 and 2018 we were presented with work calendars, calendars that were never carried out. It was never the intention of the Government to move forward with this work so it took them more than two years to present the case, for the first time, to the Court of Auditors," claims the PSD.
The opposition party states that this situation coincides with a reduction in public investment that, they consider, is even greater than during the recession.
The PSD-Algarve wants the work to go ahead, "whichever party is in charge,” and says it will "not tolerate the deception that has marked this process."
Meanwhile, the government and Infraestruturas de Portugal both have remained quiet over the issue that displays a deft political manipulation of the system to ensure the roadworks remain just a distant dream - probably until the next election.
