The Court of Auditors (TC) refused to review the contract for the Algarve Litoral sub-concession, which would allow Infraestruturas de Portugal to proceed with the requalification works on the EN125 between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, the Ministry of Tourism announced this Thursday. Planning and Infrastructure, in a statement.
This lead indefinitely postpones the launch of the deep intervention promised by the Government, even taking into account IP's intention to appeal the decision, since the works on EN125, in Sotavento, were dependent on the TC's green light to the contract signed between Infraestruturas de Portugal and the concessionaire Rotas do Algarve Litoral (RAL).
"Changes to the initial contract established by the agreement of August 2015 and meanwhile granted have now been rejected by the TC," revealed the ministry, in a short statement sent to the newsrooms.
The need for an approval from the Court of Auditors for the review of the contract between IP and RAL, which left the requalification of the EN125 to Barlavento in the hands of the concessionaire and withdrew the part to Sotavento, to return to the responsibility of Infrastructures of Portugal, is pointed out. for years as the reason why the requalification works on this road between Olhão and VRSA have not yet advanced.
Recently, mayors of the municipalities of Castro Marim and VRSA and elements of a citizens' movement that demands the progress of the works were informed by the TC that the decision had not yet been taken because this body was waiting for clarifications that it had requested from the publicly-owned company..
The following day, April 23, Sul Informação have advanced with this news, the Secretary of State for Planning came to the Algarve to announce emergency works on the EN125, which would be followed by a 'background' intervention.
At the time, Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins reaffirmed that the delay was due to «the very complex renegotiation of the Rotas do Algarve Litoral sub-concession carried out by the previous government, which removed this section from the sub-concessionaire's responsibilities, which led to a change in the contract».
Even with all the issues surrounding the contract, the member of Government was confident, in April, that the "background" works would advance in 2019.
The refusal of approval by the Court of Auditors certainly undermined this intention and postponed, even more, the launch of the long-requested works on the EN125, in Sotavento.
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