Events that continue to defy logic, efficiency and rational planning continue apace for the EN125 eastern section where the contract for the road’s long awaited upgrade has been refused by the Court of Auditors.
Approval of the EN125 upgrade was dependent on a green light from the Court of Auditors after reviewing the contract signed between Infraestructuras de Portugal and the concession holder, Rotas do Algarve Litoral.
This knock back from the Court of Auditors has postponed the launch of the intervention fund promised by the Government. Infraestruturas de Portugal will appeal the Court’s decision but lengthy delays are inevitable as the government never has been keen on spending the money.
The Ministry for Infrastructure issued a terse statement, "The amendments to the initial contract in the agreement of August 2015 have now been rejected by the Court of Auditors."
This mess has been caused by a failure to rearrange contracts to enable the work to be undertaken. This lack of political will explains the interminable delays to the road’s full upgrade.
The Court of Auditors' approval for the upgrade was needed after Infraestruturas de Portugal took responsibility for the EN125 eastern section from the concession holder that had the contract for the entire EN125. This move was effected but the contracts have not been tidied up to reflect the new arrangement.
Somewhere in this legal and procedural mess lurks the convenient reason for the long delay in starting the full upgrade of the eastern section which currently is being patched up with a slim emergency budget of €250,000 to repair the worst sections between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António.
The Secretary of State for Planning, Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins, said in April that the delay in the EN125 upgrade was due to "the very complex renegotiation of the sub-concession Rotas do Algarve Litoral started by the previous Government, which removed this section of the responsibilities of the sub-concessionaire, which led to an amendment of the contract."
The government, while continuing to ‘blame the last lot’ was confident that the major upgrade would start in 2019. This is now out of the window with no start date hazarded by a ministry whose performance defies polite description.
Needless to say, the Algarve’s eastern council leaders are apoplectic, pointing out that the Court of Auditors approved the original contract in 2009 so why doesn’t the government just get on with it.
