A government minister at last has appreciated that the Algarve’s crumbling EN 125 road needs fixing, upgrading and the planned for by-passes built.
The Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications, Sérgio Silva Monteiro has given the Algarve a choice, road or railway? The answer given to the Minister was for upgrading the EN 125 road which traverses the region from the Spanish border to the region's far west.
Monterio has moved the roadworks to 'priority project' status with the proviso that the planned electrification of the Linea do Algarve railway system can not also receive funds - it is one or the other.
“If you want Algarve EN125 upgraded this will be a priority of the Government, but the region must be aware that by doing this, there can be no money to invest in the electrification of the railway line across the Algarve.”
This major and unexpected concession from government was communicated by Monteiro at a public discussion in Faro of a working group's report that listed the nation's key infrastructure projects.
In the Algarve two priority interventions already have been identified - the completion of the electrification of the railway including a link to the airport, and the dredging of Faro and Portimao ports to enable larger ships to load and unload cruise passengers and materials for export.
Despite a need for these two civil engineering projects it became clear in the Faro meeting that the main concern in the Algarve is the state of the EN 125 road between Vila Real de Santo António and Vila do Bispo - this message came over loud and clear from local politicians and businessmen from the Algarve region.
The President of the Algarve mayors group Jorge Botelho, the mayor of Faro Rogério Bacalhau and the president of the business association NERA, Vítor Neto, were some of those who spoke up to make clear their view that the EN 125 was the priority.
"If this does not work, we'll sink a little more," said Botelho, stressing that the EN125 is "chaotic."
Neto commented that “An Englishman who arrives in the region can say the Algarve is fantastic, but you just can’t get anywhere! One gets jammed on the EN 125, and on the A22 one can’t work out how to pay.” Presumably it is not just the English that Neto considers too incompetent to work out the motorway toll payment system.
Neto, a businessman and association leader, argued that we need to create conditions for mobility in the region, starting with the redevelopment of EN 125 “so that tourists can spend as much as possible." Neto also advocated a reduction in tolls on the Via do Infante/A22 and considered that more people would use the road if it was cheaper and the total revenue would rise.”
Rogério Bacalhau demanded that the link road from Faro to the motorway was finished quickly, but knew that 'the constructor does not have the money to finish the work.”
Sérgio Monteiro listened to these concerns and claimed they will be taken into account in making the decision. "I recognize that the state of the EN 125 is not acceptable for a tourist area like the Algarve, and for Portugal as a country," he admitted, reiterating that if “the EN125 is fixed, there will be no money for the railway upgrade.”
At the end of the meeting, the Secretary of State explained to reporters that there are no budgeted funds for roads between 2014 and 2020, but any investment may be able to be covered by central funds.
As for investment in the ports of Portimão and Faro Monteiro said this was not his priority and that the €10 million promised might not be enough to complete the job of dredging the port in Portimão and the Port of Faro. The report’s authors said they will ask the National Civil Engineering Laboratory to make new cost assessment. The original figure for dredging is more than double the €10 million mentioned by Monteiro and six months after promises made by the Minister of the Economy, there is progress on the promised investment and certainly no contracts have been awarded by Lisbon.
Those expecting the Algarve’s ports to be dredged will be up in arms after this meeting if Monteiro manages to reverse out of the government commitment to fund this work.
“Redevelopment of the N125 was suspended in 2012 due to issues related to the financial difficulties of Algarve Litoral, but the roadworks on the EN125 are part of a concession agreement with a private partner, Rotas do Algarve Litoral,” said Sergio Silva Monteiro with an technically correct grasp of history.
The government cancelled all roadworks as part of a Troika-agreed move to reduce state expenditure – blaming Algarve Litoral is convenient however and certainly the government’s reliance on concessions, partners, PPP initiatives, sub-concessions, and any number of seemingly cunning ways of keeping expenditure of the nation’s books has led to such a complicated system for the building and maintenance of the nation’s road and motorway system that it has become inefficient, expensive and not fit for purpose.
Comments
If (and it is a big if) the N125 is repaired and upgraded it will take many years of total chaos for the works to be carried out. It should have been done (under EU law the alternative route must be upgraded before a motorway funded by the EU is tolled) way before tolling took place and would have been so much simpler.
Why do the authorities not consider reintroducing the concessions to locals (6 months free travel on the A22) while the works are done thus freeing up the N125 for work to be carried out?
It is so unfortunate that despite sensible suggestions we know that chaos will ensue, the work will be delayed and the officials will benefit from brown envelopes being passed around whilst the motorist will suffer, welcome to the Algarve!
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See: http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/1620-portugal-s-national-debt-at-highest-level-ever-recorded
But as he/she also suggests, perhaps some joined up thinking is necessary so that all forms of transport are looked at together.
And as is also suggested below, abolition of the tolls would remove the need to pay massive amounts of compensation to the Spanish companies running the toll system releasing funds for a more ambitious investment programme.
The resulting saving can be used to do the electric line with its faro airport connection which should have been done as part of the ongoing works now taking place at faro airport
Whilst a rail connection to Faro Airport would be a major step forward, I can't see the urgency for electrifying the railway. What's wrong with diesel? In fact what's wrong with steam? - it would be a tourist attraction in itself.
And as for the A22, either scrap the tolls and put a few cents on fuel, or halve them and collect them at the exits. Take a ticket when you join the motorway and pay the relevant toll at a machine to raise the barrier at the exit.