Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) is preparing to redeem the concession for the requalification and maintenance of the EN125, following the suspension of operation and maintenance activities announced by the sub-concessionaire Rotas do Algarve Litoral (RAL). This assumption of functions by the publicly-owned company should finally allow for the launch of tenders for the rehabilitation works of this national road between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António.
In the same note in which it reported the sub-concessionaire's intention to suspend the work, IP announced that, "under the supervisory powers provided for in the aforementioned sub-concession contract, it will assume the management of the roads included in the sub-concession, namely the EN125, in which concerns the guarantee of traffic conditions and safety'.
Source linked to the process explained to the Sul Informação that, in this context, "IP ensures, inter alia, an emergency vehicle, which will monitor the road and take care of any emergency".
The suspension announced by RAL of "all operation and maintenance activities carried out by that sub-concessionaire provided for in the sub-concession contract", in EN125, with effect "from midnight on July 24th", that is, from midnight of this Saturday comes about a week after the lead by the Court of Auditors (TC) to the renegotiation of the contract between the sub-concessionaire and IP.
In practice, this meant that the consortium that won the EN125 concession maintained the obligation to intervene along the entire length of the road, as stipulated in the original contract.
So far, works have only been carried out between Faro and Vila do Bispo, taking into account that the previous Government, led by Pedro Passos Coelho, renegotiated the contract, removing the Sotavento part and lowering the costs for the State. It was this deal that TC broke.
Following the denies of the court, a decision that IP appealed, the minister of Planning and Infrastructure stated that the EN125 "will not remain in a legal vacuum", anticipating a possible assumption of functions by IP, which is now confirmed.
The same idea had been transmitted to the Sul Informação, right after the lead, by Jorge Botelho, president of AMAL – Comunidade Intermunicipal do Algarve. The also president of the Chamber of Tavira said that the Government "has legal mechanisms at its disposal" and hoped that these would be used.
“They can notify the concessionaire to carry out the works, which is what we expect to happen [if the TC does not reverse its decision]. If the concessionaire is unable or unwilling to advance, at the limit, it will be possible to ask for the redemption of the concession», he believes.
“There is a contract in place. The Government will have to resolve the situation quickly. I keep the expectation that the works can start in 2019. And I'm talking about the works themselves, not the launch of the competitions», added Jorge Botelho, in statements to our newspaper.
What is certain is that it was not necessary to wait for a long time for RAL to extreme its position, giving conditions to the Government to rescue the concession.
O Sul Informação I learned, however, from a source connected to the process, that RAL sent a letter to IP, informing that, taking into account the TC's judgment, they would cease their activity on 6 July. "As a result, under the terms of the contract, IP began to ensure the operational management of those roads," added the same source.
The decision of the EN125 sub-concessionaire may also be linked to the lack of payment, by the State, for the works carried out in Barlavento. According to the advance of the Correio da Manhã on Thursday, the consortium will have informed its employees of the intention to move towards a collective redundancy process.
The sub-concessionaire Rotas do Algarve Litoral explained to the workers that it was going to move towards a layoffs because «has not yet received any funds for the requalification of the EN125», according to the CM.
Updated at 13:03 pm, adding information revealed to our newspaper by a source connected to the process.
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