Investments in cross-border links under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), which includes the bridge over the Guadiana between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar, on the Spanish side, are in a “worrying” state, according to the most recent assessment made by the National Monitoring Commission to this plan.
In the specific case of the Alcoutim bridge, the Commission reports that the local authority “took all the necessary steps” in terms of design in order to be able to proceed with the tender for the construction of the bridge and that “a meeting has already been held with the Junta de Andalusia to agree on the delivery point for the road axis in Spain”.
“At this time, it is essential that Spain pronounces itself on the Environmental Impact Study, that financing is guaranteed on the Spanish side and that the international administrative agreement between Portugal and Spain is signed”, reads the document issued by the PRR Monitoring Committee.
This impasse on the Spanish side is worrying the Alcoutim Council, the owner of the project, as well as the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, which has been supporting the local authority, especially because the entire process took place within the deadlines, within the reach of the Portuguese entities, but is “stuck” on a decision that will have to be taken by the Spanish authorities, so that there are conditions to sign the International Administrative Agreement that guarantees the launch of the tenders – the delay of which is one of the reasons why the commission considers the investments as “worrying”.
In June, The Junta de Andalusia has publicly stated its support for the construction of this bridge and the new cross-border link, through Rocío Diaz Jimenez, advisor for Development and Territorial Articulation of the Junta de Andalusia, who stated, during the celebrations of Portugal Day at the Portuguese Consulate in Seville, “the commitment and support of the Junta de Andalusia to the advancement of the work on the Bridge, included by Portugal in the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP)” and reported that the Andalusian regional executive requested a meeting with the Government of the Kingdom of Spain to try to unblock the situation.
In this way, the next Luso-Spanish Summit, scheduled for October, may be decisive in understanding whether the work, budgeted at 13 million euros, may proceed with PRR financing, since there is a risk of losing the timing to be able to finish the work in good time, in order to ensure that it is paid for by the European “bazooka” – there is only reimbursement after the work is completed and handed over to the owner.
In short: if the competition is not launched soon, the 100% non-refundable funding of community funds for this project will be lost.
The Portuguese Government itself has been committed to trying to unblock the situation, together with the Spanish authorities.
Although, as the name suggests, the fact that the monitoring committee considers the progress of the Alcoutim bridge project – and other similar projects – to be “Worrying” is not encouraging, these projects are not yet at the “Critical” point, which places them in the field of investments that are not in a position to move forward with PRR financing.
On the Algarve side, the situation has remained the same for months, with no possibility of progress: the Alcoutim Council «has already prepared the execution project and carried out the necessary environmental assessment work, and the procedures relating to the launch of the work and respective inspection have also been drawn up, within the scope and in accordance with the provisions of the public procurement code», recalls CCDR Algarve.
The Alcoutim – Sanlúcar de Guadiana Bridge «is part of the list of border road connections, along the interior of Portugal and Spain, approved at the most recent Portuguese-Spanish Summits».
Originally, this investment was identified in projects of common interest at the 1992 Portuguese-Spanish Summit and in the 1995 Interreg programme, but did not progress, mainly for financing reasons.
With the Recovery and Resilience Plan, Portugal included this investment in projects with European funding, a project with an estimated duration of between 16 and 18 months.
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