After all, blame for not progressing on the EN125, in the section between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, is not the Court of Auditors. At a recent meeting in Lisbon, with the presence of the Citizens' Movement of Users of the EN125 -Sotavento and the mayors of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, José Farinha Tavares, director of TC, guaranteed that this body has been waiting, since March 28, for a response from Infraestruturas de Portugal on the process.
This issue of the Court of Auditors was, on several occasions, the excuse given by the Government for the works not to progress. Hugo Pena, one of the faces of the citizenship movement, was present at this meeting, on the 10th of April, together with Francisco Amaral, president of the Chamber of Castro Marim, and Luís Romão, vice-president of the Chamber of VRSA, and considers that this issue is now cleared up.
However, with the Government pressured by the criticism that has come from all sides, the Secretary of State for Infrastructure will be at Tavira City Hall tomorrow, to present to the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve (AMAL) «the programs for emergency and structures of the EN125 between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António».
Hugo Pena, from the Citizenship Movement, told our newspaper that, at the meeting in Lisbon with the president of the TC, it was explained that the process of requesting prior inspection for the modification of the Algarve Litoral sub-concession contract was only filed on 27th October 2017. The Court of Auditors would have 30 days to rule on the matter.
«After a few days, in November, the Court of Auditors returned it to Infraestruturas de Portugal, saying that it was not prepared and had to be in other ways», Hugo Pena told the Sul Informação. This request for clarification stops the clock counting, that is, it interrupts the 30-day period of the TC.
But IP's responses only reached the Court on March 14 this year. However, on March 28, the Court of Auditors once again asked Infraestruturas de Portugal for clarification and so far… it is waiting.
When the answers arrive, the Court of Auditors will then have 20 days to decide whether the visa (approves) of the process or not, and there may be a need to ask for further clarification.
Another important issue, revealed by Hugo Pena to our newspaper, is that, at this meeting, it was clarified that before 2017 there was no case filed at the Court of Auditors regarding this amendment to the Algarve Litoral sub-concession contract, for works on the Sotavento section of the EN125.
In other words, before October of last year, the first steps for construction on the EN125 had not yet begun, despite Pedro Marques, Minister of Infrastructure Planning, even coming to the Algarve in January of last year to announce that the first interventions, on the section between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, would start... in the third quarter of 2017.
This week, in an interview with Sul Informação, Conceição Cabrita, mayor of VRSA, classified the EN125 as «a road that is nothing». «What visiting card do we have for our beaches and for our lands? Just a bumpy, third-world road», he criticized.
The Vilarrealse mayor revealed that, at a meeting a few months ago, where she was present with her fellow mayor Francisco Amaral, the company Infraestruturas de Portugal guaranteed that the fault of the works not progressing was the… Court of Auditors.
O Sul Informação tried to obtain further clarification from Infraestruturas de Portugal, but has not received any response so far.
Last week, the « calamitous state » of the EN125 in the Sotavento led to a gathering that was attended by the deputies elected by the Algarve: José Carlos Barros, for the PSD, Luís Graça, for the PS, João Vasconcelos, for the BE, Vítor Hugo Palma, representative of the CDS due to the impossibility of deputy Teresa Caeiro, and also Paulo Neto, representing deputy Paulo Sá (CDU).
All deputies showed indignation at the state of that national road and took the unanimous position of being on the side of the Movement, supporting it in everything necessary and doing everything possible to streamline the hearing and discussion in plenary in the plenary. Assembly of the Republic, so that the so desired requalification ceases to be a desire and becomes a certainty.
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